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GI JOE; THE RISE OF THE COBRA
Elite military specialists in a special-effects war film.
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JULIE AND JULIA
Meryl Streep is Julia Child in a based-on-fact film.
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THE PERFECT GETAWAY
Couples hiking in a tropical paradise run into mystery and murder.
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1. THE SOLOIST:
Robert Downey, Jr. is excellent here as real-life Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez who, while looking for a story, comes across a homeless man (Jamie Foxx) who plays a one-stringed cello on a busy street in East LA. What ensues is a friendship of sorts designed to get the mentally ill musician, who is a virtuoso who went to Julliard, into the mainstream world. No Hollywood endings here, but an exceptional character study. Rated 14A.
2. OBSESSED:
Obsession-at-the-office movies aren’t new, but this one has an unusual twist. Derek Charles (Idris Elba) is a successful asset manager on his way up, with a beautiful wife (Beyonce) and child, a career that’s cooking … and he’s about to step off a cliff. An office temp (Ali Larter) has designs on him and soon begins creating a fantasy world in which they are lovers. The twist? He’s not interested, never was, never will be … but that doesn’t stop serious damage to his career and to his marriage. Rated 14A.
3. RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN:
NDwayne (don’t call me “The Rock”) Johnson is the star here in a remake of the 1975 Disney film “Escape to Witch Mountain” in which a pair of pre-teens who are actually aliens with super powers try to save the world. A pretty good film even for adults, and if you watch carefully, you’ll see the actors in cameo roles in this movie who played the original kids in the first film. Rated PG
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4. THE SOLOIST:
Most of the homeless people shown in this film are the real thing, hired on as extras … and there’s a concert scene towards the end where the real Nathanial Ayres, the character played by Jamie Fox, fills a seat at a recital.
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ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (1975):
Why not soak up a little nostalgia and see the movie that spawned the sequel. Still holds up all right for a family film. |
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ALIENS IN THE ATTIC
A good film for tween-age girls because of the Hannah Montana connection (Ashley Tisdale) and safe PG-rated fun.
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FUNNY PEOPLE
A very vulgar movie about Adam Sandler as a dying standup comic who recruits a young comic (Seth Rogan) as his protégé.
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