Mike's Movie Tips

3.5/4 Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence and Action Throughout Most big budget action movies are dumb fun at best, where the mind isn't exactly required to be used.  Despite having a $160 million price tag, "Inception" is different.  It doesn't just encourage thought; it demands it.  Christopher Nolan's film was described as a contemporary sci-fi action thriller "set within the architecture of the mind."  That hint is more descriptive than it seems to be for this puzzlebox of an action movie. Cobb (DiCaprio) is a specialist of a unique kind.  He is able to journey into people's minds and steal their secrets.  Cobb is the best in the business, but an event from his past forced him to flee the US.  Now, a businessman named Saito (Watanabe) is in need of his services, but there's a wrin...

0.5/4 Starring: Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Alan Alda, Malin Ackerman Rated R for Sexual Content, Graphic Nudity, Language and Drug Use "Wanderlust" is a terrible movie, easily the worst of this new year.  Tedious, unfunny and seemingly without end, it makes " One for the Money " look like decent entertainment. George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston) are a happily married couple living in Manhattan when their fortunes take a turn for the worse.  George's company goes under after his boss gets caught in some unscrupulous dealings and HBO doesn't pick up Linda's movie.  Unable to afford living in the "micro-apartment" they just bought, the two head to Atlanta, where George's brother offers him a job.  But his brother (co-writer Ken Marino) is a lunatic so they flee to the commune that they stopped by on the way to Atlanta.  But are they ready to commit to this extremely open society? It surprised me to learn that the duo ...

3/4 Starring: Demi Moore, Viggo Mortensen, Anne Bancroft, Jason Beghe, Scott Wilson, Daniel von Bargen, John Michael Higgins Rated R for Language and Combat Violence "G.I. Jane" is an action movie, although not in the strictest sense of the word.  There are stunts and violence, but it's not all gunfire and blowing things up (there is one traditional action sequence, but it's brief and comes at the end).  Actually, it's more similar to "Top Gun" than say, "Navy SEALS." Senator Lillian DeHaven (Bancroft) is known for her push for gender equality in the armed forces.  In order to open up more jobs to women, she decides to have a woman undergo SEAL training, the most intense training known to mankind.  The woman selected is Jordan O'Neal (Moore), a tenacious young naval officer who doesn't want any special treatment.  But not everyone wants to see her finish; her squad, her commanding officer, nor the higher ups in the military.  Bu...

3/4 Starring: Matt Czuchry, Geoff Stults, Jesse Bradford, Keri Lynn Pratt, Marika Dominczyk, The version being viewed is the unrated one.  For the record, the theatrical cut is rated R for Nudity, Strong Sexual Content including Graphic Dialogue Throughout, Language and Some Crude Material As I have said before, I am a huge Tucker Max fan.  Few people can make me laugh that hard no matter how many times I've read/watched their material.  His stories are so outrageous and he's such a good writer that a movie was bound to happen.  The master of the outrageous, the crude and the ego, "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" has forever cemented a place in my psyche. Would that I could say the same thing about the movie.  It's not particularly great; the acting is sometimes shockingly stiff and the direction is often questionable, but despite everything, it is funny. The plot is a mixture of a number of Tucker's stories (which considering the wealth and variety ...

3/4 Starring: Will Smith, Brigette Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, Chi McBride, James Cromwell, Shia LeBeouf, Alan Tudyk (voice) Rated PG-13 for Intense Stylized Action, and Some Brief Partial Nudity Law I: A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. Law II: A robot must obey orders given it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law Law III: A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law These are the "Three Laws of Robotics" created by Isaac Asimov, and they form the foundation of Alex Proyas' film, "I, Robot."  Although flawed, one must give credit where it is due: this is a surprisingly intelligent action movie, and one that piques the mind as well as raises the adrenaline. In the year 2035, robots are a permanent part of life.  They're everywhere, and many people own one.  They are so ingrained i...

Okay, that may be overstating things a little bit.  Weinstein, a producer whose talent is outmatched by the size of his ego, is a little hard to get behind.  This is the guy who split the "Kill Bill" movies in two (which led to an unfortunate Hollywood trend), and released an edited version of "The King's Speech," which shouldn't have been R rated to begin with. But the film at the center of the controversy is a documentary called "Bully," about, naturally, bullying.  Bullying has always been a problem but it has never gotten more than token press after the suicide of Phoebe Prince and the catastrophic losses of LGBT teens.  So here is a chance to present a true face on bullying to people who are both victims and perpetrators.  So what does the MPAA do?  They give it a fucking R rating. I haven't seen the film, so I can't judge it based on content.  But think about it.  A film that was meant to be shown in schools to s...

I've heard of people who refuse to watch a movie a second time.  It makes sense, I mean, you know what's going to happen.  I'm not one of them.  There are a lot of movies that I watch more than once; some I've seen nearly a hundred times.  A movie has to be really good to be worth watching again and again. So what makes a movie worth revisiting?  It depends on a few factors.  Action movies are the ones that are the most "rewatchable" because extravagant stunts and fight scenes can provoke awe after one or two viewings (at least in my opinion).  Consider "True Lies," which has been a family favorite for years.  The scene with the Harrier jet is awesome.  I mean, it's jaw-dropping.  The sequence is so well-executed by James Cameron that it still gets the adrenaline pumping no matter how many times you see it. Sometimes it's because the story is so much fun.  I watch "Brotherhood of the Wolf" once every few months.  ...

2.5/4 Starring: Ed Harris, Anne Heche, Michael Rispoli, Charles Haid, Caterina Scorsone, Mark Huisman, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Barbara Sukowa Rated R for Some Language, Sex-Related and Violent Images, and Brief Drug Use One could argue that this film would work better for Catholics than non-Catholics (such as myself), but I don't think so.  Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland's film is only sporadically compelling because the mystery over whether a lay woman is a saint is well-developed.  The rest of the film, not so much. Frank Shore (Harris) is a priest who has lost his faith.  His job was to investigate miracles, but being a skeptic, he was known as the "Miracle Killer," and after a previous case went sour, he lost it.  Now, the local bishop (Cahill) needs him to investigate the story of a woman named Helena O'Regan (Sukowa), a woman who people pray to.  She has reportedly already cured one girl (Scorsone), and there are rumors of another from w...

3/4 Starring: Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Tom Cruise, Jay Baruchel, Brandon T. Jackson, Nick Nolte, Tom Cruise, Steve Coogan Rated R for Pervasive Language including Sexual References, Violent Content and Drug Material If there's anything that deserves a send-up, it's Hollywood.  With all the ass-kissing, self-promotion and ginormous egos running around, it's high time someone gave it all a middle finger.  "The Player," which is as of yet unseen by me, did this in 1992, so I guess Ben Stiller thought it was time another round.  Ben Stiller and his screenwriters are intelligent in the targets that they attack; tabloids, cross-marketing and method acting are just a few of their targets.  Nothing about the MPAA, however, although one can understand their reluctance to openly attack that inexplicably powerful organization. The plot has three actors: fading action star Tugg Speedman (Stiller), Oscar-winning actor Kirk Lazarus (Downey Jr) and com...

3.5/4 Starring: Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam, Dennis Miller Rated PG-13 for Violence, Some Sexuality and Brief Strong Language During the mid-to-late nineties, few actresses were more in demand than Sandra Bullock.  After a star-making turn in the 1994 action/thriller “Speed,” Bullock was suddenly a hot commodity.  One of my favorite movies of hers is the underrated suspense-thriller “The Net.”  Hitchcock would have loved this; it’s “North by Northwest” in cyberland. Shy and introverted computer analyst Angela Bennett (Bullock) is about to go on vacation when she is sent a program by a co-worker that contains a program with a very mysterious glitch: with a few keystrokes, she is able to access and alter any website…government, business, or the stock market, just to name a few.  But that’s just the start of it.  When she gets back to the US, she finds that her identity has been completely erased, and she is now known as Ruth Marx, who has a crim...

3.5/4 Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis, Cameron Diaz, Jim Broadbent, Brendan Gleeson, John C. Reilly, Liam Neeson Rated R for Intense Strong Violence, Sexuality/Nudity, and Language "America was Born in the Streets" That's the tagline for Martin Scorcese's epic "Gangs of New York," and if you really think about it, it makes perfect sense for the film even though it's essentially a revenge story. In 1845, New York City's Five Points was battled over by the Dead Rabbits, a group of (mostly Irish) immigrants led by 'Priest' Vallon (Neeson), and the xenophobic Natives, led by the sadistic Bill the Butcher (Day-Lewis).  Vallon was killed, and his young son, Amsterdam (Cian Mccormack) was then raised by the Church.  Eighteen years later, Amsterdam (DiCaprio) is released, and he has one thing on his mind: kill Bill (no QT pun intended). In a way, the film's plot is really second to Scorcese's tour of 1863 New York Ci...

3/4 Starring: Tim Allen, Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver, Enrico Contaloni, Sam Rockwell, Tony Shaloub Rated PG for Some Action Violence, Mild Language and Sensuality Long live geekdom!  "Galaxy Quest" is an affectionate parody of "Star Trek" and its fans, and it does so without ever being mean.  It addresses the show with a wink and a smile. Eighteen years ago, the cult sci-fi show "Galaxy Quest" was adored by sci-fi geeks.  But these days, the actors are only required to show up at sci-fi conventions and TV ads.  Some of the cast love the spotlight, like James Nesmith (Allen), who played the captain and has an ego to match.  Others, like classical actor Alexander Dane (Rickman) who played the much beloved Dr. Lazarus, would rather die than say their signature line.  Soon, however, they're going to find themselves playing their parts for real when they are transported by troubled aliens who believe that the TV episodes are "historical docu...

3/4 Starring: Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig Rated PG for Mild Thematic Elements and Smoking The joy of watching a romance is falling in love with the characters as they fall in love with each other.  For that to happen, two things need to happen: character development and chemistry.  Often times, movies are too afraid of losing their audience that they fill the movie up with ridiculous and formulaic plot contortions instead of letting the characters be themselves ("How Stella Got Her Groove Back" suffered from this problem).  With "Cairo Time," writer/director Ruba Nadda employs a minimalist plot that serves only to allow her two leads to spend time together. Juliette (Clarkson) is the wife of a UN diplomat who is meeting her husband in Cairo for a vacation.  When she gets there, a former co-worker of her husband tells her that he has been delayed in Gaza.  This man is Tareq (Siddig), who tells her to call him if she needs anything.  With her ...

1.5/4 Starring: Josh Hutcherson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Vanessa Hudgens Rated PG for Some Adventure Action and Brief Mild Language "Journey 2" should be a lot more fun than it is.  It's got lots of action, wall-to-wall special effects, and the adventure of discovering a new paradise.  But the bottom line is that this movie couldn't be more bland if it tried.  I haven't seen the first film, but if this sequel is anything to go by, I should be glad. Sean (Hutcherson) is a rebellious teen who has been forced to move because his mom remarried (I think...the movie doesn't explain this very well).  He's not getting along with his stepdad Hank (Johnson), but they have a bonding moment when he gets a coded message from his grandfather (Michael Caine) that points to clues to a mysterious island that is suggested in the book by Jules Verne (who is undoubtedly turning over in his grave at being mentioned in this stinker).  So they set out to find the ...

3.5/4 Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Chelsea Handler, Angela Bassett Rated PG-13 for Sexual Content, including References, Violence and Action, and for Language Frequently in romantic comedies, it begins with the guy banging chicks left and right until he meets a girl who causes him to re-evaluate his life and settle down with her.  This time, it's girl's night (although it is suggested that this is how Chris Pine's character lives, but never mind).  Finally, a romantic comedy where the girl isn't a virginal saint. Lauren (Witherspoon) is a young single who followed her boyfriend (Warren Christie) to LA, only to find him sleeping with his pilates instructor.  Now single, she is signed up for an internet dating service by her salty friend Trish (Handler).  There, she meets a handsome hunk named Tuck (Hardy), and they hit it off wonderfully (why people as good looking as Witherspoon and Hardy would ever need a dating service, but never mind...

3.5/4 Starring: Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, Ken Watanabe, Koji Yakusho Rated PG-13 for Mature Subject Matter and Some Sexual Content I love stories that guide us through a new and foreign culture or way of life.  It is fascinating to learn how people of a different world live and what stories they have to share.  Arthur Golden's novel is a richly detailed and exquisitely crafted story of not only the life of a geisha, but a story of a spunky and intelligent heroine to guide us through this hidden world, all the while trying to be closer to her one true love.  Although it lacks a lot of the detail (time constraints have something to do with this) and depth of the book, the film version is about as good as one could hope for. One of the difficulties screenwriter Robin Swicord faced when adapting the novel is that it is told from a first person perspective of a character with a very unique personality.  Parts of her personality have been smoothed down in...

2/4 Starring: Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn, William H. Macy, Ally Walker, Illeana Douglas Rated PG-13 for Language, Sexual Content, and Some Violence “Happy, Texas” is a 98-minute long sitcom.  The script and the characters are paper thin, the humor is juvenile, and the plot is innocuous.  With a miscast lead and an unwillingness to take chances, “Happy, Texas” is watchable, but instantly forgettable. In a Texas prison, con artist Harry Sawyer (Northam) and dim bulb car thief Wayne Wayne Wayne, Jr. (Zahn) have just gotten lucky: the truck they are being transported in crashes and they escape.  Their luck gets even greater when they find a small town they can hide in until the heat cools down.  All they have to do is pose as beauty pageant instructors for two weeks, then rob the bank and get out of dodge.  The catch is that instead of being able to chase the skirts of the pageant contestants, they have to babysit them, and they also have to preten...

2.5/4 Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Denzel Washington, Brendan Gleeson, Vera Farmiga, Sam Shepard Rated R for Strong Violence Throughout and Some Language There's no doubt that "Safe House" is intense.  This is a gritty and extremely violent film, so much so that it almost becomes a turn-off.  It's loud, aggressive, and brutal; the R rating is well-deserved.  But director Daniel Espinosa, in his American debut, resorts to the old standbys to create suspense: desaturated cinematography and frenetic shaking of the camera.  This is not to the film's benefit. Matt Weston (Reynolds) is a "housekeeper" in South Africa.  He guards a CIA safe house until it needs to be used.  It sounds a lot more interesting than it actually is.  In his words, he just sits there and bounces a ball against a wall all day.  That all changes when Tobin Frost (Washington) walks into the US Embassy.  Frost used to be CIA, but he turned and went rogue nine years ago. ...

3.5/4 Starring: Tom Guiry, Mike Vitar, Patrick Renna, Chauncey Leopardi, Denis Leary, Karen Allen Rated PG for Some Language and Kids Chewing Tobacco Call it “The Pre-Wonder Years.”  The tone is quite similar (heavy on the nostalgia to the point of being fantasy), and if I may say so, a lot more fun.  It did, after all, originate one of the top catchphrases of the 90s (people still say “You’re killing me, Smalls!” to me all the time).  And what’s not to love about this movie?  It’s got more baseball than “The Natural,” a lot of good humor (that’s actually funny), and the overall experience is like hanging out with a bunch of friends.  Oh, and it features a dog so large it makes Clifford the Big Red Dog look like a Chihuahua. Scotty Smalls (Guiry) is in the unenviable position of having moved two weeks before the end of the fifth grade.  It’s too late to make any friends, but at his mother’s prodding (“Get into trouble, for God’s sake!” she...

3.5/4 Starring: Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Kelly Reilly, Christopher Guest, Will Young Rated R for Nudity and Brief Language “Mrs. Henderson Presents” is a triumph of acting and storytelling.  The plot is nothing special, but the cast is top-notch and Stephen Frears is no hack director.  It’s a pleasure to spend 103 minutes at the Windmill Theater. Mrs. Laura Henderson (Dench) has been a widow for all of a few days and she’s already bored.  Her friend, Lady Conway (Thelma Barlow) suggests a few things that she can do to fill up her time, chief among them being to spend money.  She buys a rundown theater on an impulse, and hires a producer, Vivian Van Damm (Hoskins) to run it.  The two don’t get along, but the show is a success…until everyone starts copying their idea.  That’s when Mrs. Henderson comes up with a revolutionary idea: put nude girls on the stage. Before I go on, I must address the film’s outrageous decision to give the film ...

3/4 Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Bruce Greenwood, Eric Bana, Zoe Saldana, Leonard Nimoy Rated PG-13 for Sci-Fi Action and Violence, and Brief Sexual Content Like "Star Wars," "Star Trek" has captured the imagination of geeks around the world (they even have their own nickname, "Trekkies," and two documentaries about them).  TV wunderkind J.J. Abrams rebooted the long-running TV and film franchise into a flawed, but entertaining two hours.  Paramount Pictures has created a solid start to a new franchise, and it's a welcome change from superhero movies. It is the far away future.  The U.S.S. Kelvin has come under attack by a mysterious ship and has been badly battered.  The captain has been asked to come aboard to negotiate but is quickly killed.  The next officer in line, George Kirk (future "Thor" star Chris Hemsworth in a heartbreaking performance) sacrifices himself in order to get everyone, including his newbor...

4/4 Starring: Bill Paxton, Helen Hunt, Jami Gertz, Cary Elwes, Lois Smith Rated PG-13 for Intense Depiction of Very Bad Weather "Twister" is big time fun.  It's about as close to a perfect summer action movie as one can get.  It's got lots of action, plenty of special effects, moments that make you go "ooh" and "aah," and a few big laughs.  " Speed " director Jan de Bont has struck again. On this summer day, the weather is going haywire.  Storms are sprouting over the Midwest and there could be a whole mess of tornadoes that occur relatively close to each other.  That's good news for Dr. Jo Harding (Hunt) and her ragtag group of tornado chasers.  But on this fateful day, her ex-husband and ex-partner, Bill (Paxton) is coming for their divorce papers so he can marry his fiancee, Melissa (Gertz).  But Jo has a surprise for him: their passion project, a machine named Dorothy (ha ha) that they're going to use to help predict t...

2.5/4 Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Anna Kendrick, Peter Facinelli, Cam Gigandet Rated PG-13 for Some Violence and a Scene of Sensuality This review isn't going to endear me to either "Twilight" fans nor "Twilight" haters.  The first film in Stephanie Meyer's popular vampire franchise isn't very good, but it's not bad either.  It is entirely watchable, and on some level involving.  It's too long and there is some astonishingly bad dialogue, but it is what it is. Bella Swan (Stewart) has just moved from Phoenix to the tiny town of Forks, Washington.  It's the middle of the school year and almost immediately she has a group of friends (ah, if we were all so lucky).  But there is one boy who intrigues her, a pale stud named Edward Cullen (Pattinson).  He's alternately meek & self-doubting and hostile toward Bella.  But she's curious, and it turns out that he and his "family" are vampires....

Blockbuster was once the premier place to rent movies.  Now, it's going out of business.  Why?  Netflix.  It offers a wider selection of movies, some of which can be streamed through the internet.  And, with a monthly fee, there are no late fees (at some stores, you can rent a movie and have a have a significant grace period before you "buy" the movie for an additional charge).  But there is hope for Blockbuster, a point which I will get to later. It's unreasonable to ask a Blockbuster store to carry every movie ever made; each store would have to be the size of a Wal-Mart and prices would go through the roof.  But the problem is that the stores are filled with direct to DVD movies that no one wants (my guess is that smaller companies offer them at much cheaper prices than the big studios), and a few token foreign films.  Major new releases are guaranteed to be in stock, but there's a problem: everyone recognizes that movie quality is going down...

3/4 Starring: Christian Slater, John Travolta, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo, Frank Whaley Rated R for Strong Action Violence and Language "Broken Arrow" is everything a summer action movie should be (despite the fact that it was released in February for some reason): it's got a good hero, a villain bent on destruction for money, a spunky female, and lots and lots of action.  Although far from perfect, it is good fun. Major Vic Deakins (Travolta) and Captain Riley Hale (Slater) are assigned to go on a stealth run with two thermonuclear weapons.  Along the way, Deakins goes homicidal and tries to kill Hale.  Failing that, he ejects his comrade into the Utah desert.  Hale quickly finds out that Deakins has stolen the bombs and plans on detonating them in a US city unless he's paid big bucks.  The only thing that stands in his way is Hale, who knows him way too well, and a beautiful park ranger (Mathis). The performances are top-notch.  Christian Sla...

1/4 Starring: Jordi Molla, Jane March, Harvey Keitel, F. Murray Abraham Rated R for Violence, Language and Some Sexuality "The Stone Merchant" is a catalog of filmmaking errors.  It's poorly paced, lacks any kind of atmosphere, relies on characters being unreasonably stupid in order to move the plot along, and has little focus.  In fact, the only thing that the movie does right is hire actors who can act (although there's little they can do to salvage this movie). After a terrorist bombing cost him his lower legs, Alceo (Molla) is convinced that there's an Islamic terrorist around every corner.  His wife Leda (March) is sympathetic, but it's getting old.  After she survives a terrorist attack herself, they go on vacation into Turkey.  Their car breaks down, and they are rescued by a man named Shahid (Abraham).  Shahid introduces them to a merchant (Keitel) who sells rare stones, and he is instantly smitten with Leda. It isn't enough for ...

2/4 Starring: Penn Badgley, Dylan Walsh, Sela Ward, Amber Heard The version of the film being reviewed is the unrated one.  For the record, the theatrical cut was rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Violence, Disturbing Images, Mature Thematic Material and Brief Sensuality Nelson McCormick's 2009 thriller is a remake of the 1987 film starring Terry O'Quinn (who would later go on to star in the TV show "Lost").  It was a wildly uneven thriller, capable of producing both chills and unintentional laughs.  This remake has turned what was originally a psychological thriller into a PG-13 slasher movie (the "unrated" label is a misnomer--there's nothing R-rated about it)...and not for the better. Michael (Badgley) has just returned home from military school to find that his mother (Ward) has become engaged to a man named David (Walsh).  David appears to be the perfect guy; he's polite, charming, big on family and always helpful to everyone.  He...

3.5/4 Starring: Sandra Bullock, Quentin Aaron, Tim McGraw, Jae Head, Lily Collins Rated PG-13 for One Scene involving Brief Violence, Drug and Sexual References Occasionally, a movie succeeds solely on the purposes of one performance.  While there may be other qualities to the production that are worth applauding, the main thrust of the film is a dynamic acting by a talented thespian.  It happened with Cate Blanchett's performance in " Elizabeth " and it happens here.  The performance is given by Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuhoy, the adoptive mother of future pro-football player Michael Oher. Leigh Anne Tuhoy (Bullock) is the devoted Christian wife of a fast food franchise owner who prides herself on her charity.  One day, she sees a huge man walking home in the cold rain in nothing but a t-shirt and shorts.  Her son, SJ (Head) tells her that the man is Big Mike (Aaron), a new student at the school.  Not wanting to leave him in the cold, she insis...

3.5/4 Starring: Vera Farmiga, Isabelle Fuhrman, Peter Sarsgaard, Aryana Engineer, Jimmy Bennett, CCH Pounder, Margo Martindale Rated R for Disturbing Violent Content, Some Sexuality and Language "Orphan" was the object of a fair amount of controversy when it was released and it's not hard to see why.  The film details how a family of four adopts a nine year old girl who turns out to be a psychopathic killer.  Not exactly encouraging for prospective parents.  Controversy aside, this is a scary thriller.  However I must admit that it made me feel unclean at times, and I have a high tolerance for this sort of thing. The Colemans are about to adopt another child.  Kate (Farmiga), a recovering alcoholic, lost her daughter Jessica during pregnancy, and is still warming up to the idea of adopting.  They choose a girl named Esther (Fuhrman), a charming and sweet little girl.  Things seem to be going great, except that people have mysterious accidents w...

2/4 Starring: Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Ben Foster, Logan Lerman, Gretchen Mol Rated R for Violence and Some Language James Mangold's 2007 version of Elmore Leonard's short story "3:10 to Yuma" brings to mind two other westerns: The Coen Brothers' "True Grit" and "High Noon."  The former is because it's all about the beginning and the end; people talk, but they don't say anything of interest and nothing happens except for a few isolated gunfights.  The similarities with "High Noon" are much more general.  Both stories detail righteous men doing the right thing in the face of impossible odds.  It's nowhere near as good as "High Noon," and about as dull as the greatly overrated "True Grit." Ben Wade (Crowe) is the baddest outlaw in the west.  Wade and his gang are responsible for nearly $400,000 in stolen goods and countless deaths, and he's finally been caught.  Now, a few lawmen and an ...