Here are the capsule reviews of films opening this week
March 21, 2007 (Press Release) --
"Pride" This swimming drama has enough buoyancy to remain afloat, though without the vigor of Terrence Howard and the charm of Bernie Mac, it likely would sink in its own sea of sports cliches. It's an underdog story we keep seeing over and over again, this time about a group of inner-city black teens in the 1970s who are molded by a selfless mentor into a winning swim team that strikes a blow for race relations and equal opportunity. Howard plays the coach and mentor who founded the swim team, with Mac as a rec center janitor who joins the effort and Kimberly Elise as a city councilwoman who goes from skeptic to believer. Tom Arnold co-stars as coach of an upscale white team that becomes the black kids' archrival. PG for thematic material, language including some racial epithets, and violence. 108 min. Two and a half stars out of four.
_ David Germain, AP Movie Writer
"Reign Over Me" Even though he's 40 now, Adam Sandler easily could have continued playing Happy Gilmore or Little Nicky or any of the other characters in his arsenal of arrested development. That's what made him famous that's what made him popular. But he's shown a surprising amount of wisdom in deciding to grow up on screen as well as off of it, and following more mature roles in "Punch-Drunk Love" and "Spanglish," this is his meatiest yet. It's also his most maudlin. Sandler stars as a troubled former dentist who has suppressed the memory of his wife and three daughters, who died in 9/11. He runs into his college roommate (Don Cheadle) and rejuvenates an old friendship that both men need. Cheadle brings his typical intelligence and nuance to what might have been a dry, straight-man role; he could elevate anyone's game, and here, he and Sandler share a buoyant chemistry. But the film from writer-director Mike Binder ("The Upside of Anger") also requires Cheadle to draw S! andler out of his deep denial, whi ch grows increasingly melodramatic and culminates with a bombastic climax. R for language and some sexual references. 125 min. Two and a half stars out of four.
_ Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic
"Shooter" The name of the movie is "Shooter," and for a while director Antoine Fuqua is right on target with this claustrophobic tale of conspiracies, lies and double-crosses. Ultimately, though, it collapses as so many action films of lesser intelligence do into a seemingly eternal series of explosions and false endings. Mark Wahlberg stars as Bob Lee Swagger (yes, seriously), the hero of Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter's novel "Point of Impact," which provides the inspiration here. Swagger is a reclusive former Marine sniper who's asked to take part in that tried-and-true one last job.
Source: http://www.msn.com
_ David Germain, AP Movie Writer
"Reign Over Me" Even though he's 40 now, Adam Sandler easily could have continued playing Happy Gilmore or Little Nicky or any of the other characters in his arsenal of arrested development. That's what made him famous that's what made him popular. But he's shown a surprising amount of wisdom in deciding to grow up on screen as well as off of it, and following more mature roles in "Punch-Drunk Love" and "Spanglish," this is his meatiest yet. It's also his most maudlin. Sandler stars as a troubled former dentist who has suppressed the memory of his wife and three daughters, who died in 9/11. He runs into his college roommate (Don Cheadle) and rejuvenates an old friendship that both men need. Cheadle brings his typical intelligence and nuance to what might have been a dry, straight-man role; he could elevate anyone's game, and here, he and Sandler share a buoyant chemistry. But the film from writer-director Mike Binder ("The Upside of Anger") also requires Cheadle to draw S! andler out of his deep denial, whi ch grows increasingly melodramatic and culminates with a bombastic climax. R for language and some sexual references. 125 min. Two and a half stars out of four.
_ Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic
"Shooter" The name of the movie is "Shooter," and for a while director Antoine Fuqua is right on target with this claustrophobic tale of conspiracies, lies and double-crosses. Ultimately, though, it collapses as so many action films of lesser intelligence do into a seemingly eternal series of explosions and false endings. Mark Wahlberg stars as Bob Lee Swagger (yes, seriously), the hero of Washington Post film critic Stephen Hunter's novel "Point of Impact," which provides the inspiration here. Swagger is a reclusive former Marine sniper who's asked to take part in that tried-and-true one last job.
Source: http://www.msn.com
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