Open Range (2003)

For what it's worth, this is probably the best looking western I can recall seeing. It's just too bad that the rest of the film doesn't match up to the cinematography. That isn't to say the film is bad, but it isn't particularly good either. In trying to paint his wild west, Kevin Costner has tried to make a John Ford film. It's got the classic slow pacing, the great big scenery, and Costner himself trying to act like John Wayne with post traumatic stress disorder. The problem winds up lying somewhere at the bottom of a giant pile of clichés. Everything that's supposed to be in a western is present and accounted for, but there's nothing here you haven't already seen in a better film. Meanwhile, the acting is best described as “fair” and the editing was probably done with a rusty butter knife. Short of that, it's got an okay script that can be at times compelling, but sadly never involving. It's really a shame that such great visuals didn't wind up in a better film.

5 out of 10.

Ong-bak: The Thai Warrior (2003 Thailand, 2004 USA)

When watching a martial arts movie, it doesn't matter how good the script is (in this case, awful), if the acting is good (nope!), if there's any character development (not here), or any emotional involvement whatsoever (none). All that matters is what happens when foot meets ass. When the fighting starts in Ong-bak, all is forgiven. For all of its considerable flaws, watching newcomer Tony Jaa effortlessly flip around, under, over, and through his opponents is still about as good as this genre can show. And the best part? It's all real! There are no wires, no CG, and he does all his own stunts. Who cares if the movie is as dull as North Dakota in winter when there's nobody fighting? Seeing such physical perfection is worth a little inconvenience.

8 out of 10.

The Heartbreak Kid (2007)

When was the last time Ben Stiller did anything funny? Not the last time he was in a funny movie (Meet the Fockers, by the way) but the last time he, Ben Stiller, actually did something that made you laugh. For all his supposed comedic talent, he always plays the straight man. Such is the case here, where the Farrelly brothers (who haven't done anything worthwhile since they struck it rich with There's Something About Mary) dirty up the screen with a witless, heartless, senseless exercise in false sanctimony and forced laughs. I can't even reasonably give it credit for trying, since this is just a remake of a well regarded film from 1972. I want the Farrellys to be funny again (and I want Ben Stiller to be funny at all). I absolutely love a good, filthy comedy with dirty surprises around every corner, but the way things are going for these folks we should probably start looking elsewhere.

3 out of 10.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

guest review by Phineas Gopher

One of the funnest documentaries of the year, the film demonstrates that the world of competitive video gaming isn't so different from athletics; it just involves a different (and less widely respected) set of skills. Basically, it takes a look at what happens when the world record holder for the original Donkey Kong arcade game (an arrogant, wealthy hot sauce mogul) has his score challenged by an unknown contender (an average American family man). While it sometimes seems ridiculous how seriously everybody is taking themselves, the film does a good job showing that this is in fact human nature, not to be looked down on by anyone lest they be guilty of the very thing they're judging. You don't need to be an avid gamer to enjoy this battle of the thumbs, but it will have a special meaning to anyone who's ever left their initials on the screen of an arcade console.

8 out of 10.

Randy & the Mob (2007)

Good natured and fun, this is the rare comedy that could possibly win anyone over thanks to an earnest approach and some slick charm. In a way it reminds me of My Big Fat Greek Wedding: it has the same sort of avant garde crowd-pleasing vibe and a similar cultural twist. It's simply a smiling tale of family and small town stress set against the strangeness that is the deep south. While it's rarely uproarious, it keeps you grinning from the first shot to the last, relying on heart and a clever script to drive itself. It isn't a Hollywood comedy, doesn't have big stars or high-budget photography; this is just a down home, southern fried pile of delightfully bent laughs.

8 out of 10.

The Game Plan (2007)

Standard issue heart-warmer. Comes with all the features—a charismatic lead, a cute kid, and a completely predictable dilemma that leads to general purpose shenanigans and goings-on. It's easy to be exceptionally cynical about so-called “family films” so just put these comments in comparison with other films of the genre. It goes where you want it to go, and doesn't come off nearly as annoying as you expect it will. The chemistry between The Rock and The Kid is solid, and the rest is just as contrived as almost every other movie of this type. It's a decent film with a few laughs but has nothing you haven't already seen in every one of these kinds of movies. It's just another Disney film, but that's not all bad.

6 out of 10.

Shooter (2007)

One word: overcooked. Shooter has all the markings of a decent action-thriller but despite its long range barrel, the film still manages to shoot itself in the foot. Stereotypes abound, from the morose protagonist, country-bumpkin lady person, too-green government agent, and villains lacking any sort of creativity or actual malice (to say nothing of character development). Still, the plot ducks and weaves in a feigned effort at being unpredictable, there's a pretty neat shoot-out toward the end, and overall the movie has some great camera work. If only it didn't crib so much from the Big Book of Standard Characters, there might have been some real meat here.

5 out of 10.

The Kingdom (2007)

I am honestly not sure if Chris Cooper can play anything but a government agent, but here he is again. This time he teams up with Ray, Alias, and Arrested Development to try to solve terrorism in the Middle East. What you wind up sitting through is an inconsistent, drastically over-produced, disingenuous piece of knotted storytelling that still somehow manages to be entertaining, but only barely. The culprit is ambition. It's a story about culture clash between the Mid East and ourselves set in the framework (and with the overall depth) of a 2 hour long episode of CSI. It wants to be about the similarities between Western and Muslim society, about what it will take to reconcile our differences, but at the same time be as idiot proof and consumer friendly as possible. It's got the visceral thrill and the witty banter to keep your attention, but subject matter like this has higher demands than watching things go boom. Sure the faces are familiar and likable, sure the subject is topical and important, and sure the editing keeps to a gallop, but it never manages to rally itself into the galvanizing force it aspires to be, despite a very poignant moral.

6 out of 10.