Capsule Reviews of This Week's New Films

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) April 18, 2007 --

"Fracture" We know you're thinking it. We were, too. So we may as well just acknowledge it, get it out of the way and move on as a group: Yes, Anthony Hopkins is indeed doing a version of patented Hannibal Lecter shtick. So yes, you have seen him do this before. But he does it so well and it's still so much fun to watch, you may as well just give in. Hopkins stars as a Los Angeles executive accused of shooting his much younger wife (Embeth Davidtz) after he catches her having an affair. And he's admitted he committed the crime. Then Ryan Gosling, as a hotshot prosecutor on his way to a high-paying corporate gig, gets assigned the case and nothing turns out to be as easy as it initially seemed. Hopkins and Gosling needle each other, spar with each other, and generally enjoy a fantastically smart, zippy banter. "Fracture" is stylish, suspenseful and unexpectedly funny actually a lot funnier and a lot less stiff and self-serious than such a thriller might look. Some plot poi! nts here and there don't quite cli ck in to place. Whether or not you can catch them, Hopkins' clever character should have. R for language and some violent content. 113 min. Three stars out of four.
_ Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

"Hot Fuzz" Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg do for buddy-cop action tales what they did for zombie flicks with "Shaun of the Dead": Present a nice homage while tweaking the conventions and making jolly good fun of the genre's cliches. Though longer than it needs to be and a bit draggy early on, the film packs a lot of hearty laughs and a few real guffaws as a hotshot London cop adjusts to life in a seemingly tranquil country town. Director Wright and his co-writer and star Pegg again make great use of the latter's on-screen chemistry with "Shaun of the Dead" co-star Nick Frost. Pegg's the able London cop, exiled to a sleepy town where he partners with an action-movie fanatic (Frost) to uncover the truth behind a series of bizarre, gruesome deaths. The supporting cast includes Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Edward Woodward and Billie Whitelaw. The action in the big shoot-'em-up finale is not terribly well done, but you're here more for the laughs, which the filmmakers definitel! y deliver. R for violent content i ncluding some graphic images, and language. 121 min. Three stars out of four.
_ David Germain, AP Movie Writer

"In the Land of Women" Adam Brody graduates from "The O.C" and proves he can carry a film, or at least struggle to carry a film with his dignity intact, even when it descends into sudsy melodrama. Brody stars as Carter Webb, a lovelorn L.A. writer (is there any other kind?) who flees for the safety and comfort of suburban Michigan after his Penelope Cruz-style, model-actress girlfriend dumps him (at a hipster coffee shop where fans ask her for autographs, naturally). He moves in with his aging, ailing grandmother (Olympia Dukakis, cantankerous again) but ends up spending more time with the women across the street: intriguing housewife Sarah (Meg Ryan) and her teenage daughter, Lucy (Kristen Stewart). With his feature debut, writer-director Jonathan Kasdan (whose father, Lawrence, is an executive producer and whose brother, Jake, has "The TV Set" in theaters now) spells everything out about how the characters feel and how we should feel about them. He bangs us over the hea! d with sentimental platitudes abou t love and loyalty and leaves nothing open for the audience's interpretation. He's lucky that his actors, namely Brody and Stewart, remain likable nonetheless. PG-13 for sexual content, thematic elements and language. 98 min. Two stars out of four.
_ Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

Source: http://movies.yahoo.com

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