HHH: Good
HH: Average
H: Poor
HH1/2 40-Year Old Virgin, The
Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) is the consummate dork who collects action figures, bikes to work, and stays far away from women. Without any friends, there’s no one to tell him what he’s missing. The generally artificial scenes and outrageously unbelievable characters are not noticed much because the movie makes you laugh so hard that you can barely put more popcorn in your mouth. (Yong-yi Zhu)
H1/2 Aristocrats, The
This film features Hollywood notables delivering and analyzing what co-creator Penn Jilette touts as “the dirtiest joke you will ever hear.” And with the rabid incest, beastiality, child rape, and bodily fluids (and solids), hopefully it is. The joke — too vulgar to repeat in any form here — isn’t even funny. (Kathy Lin)
HH Broken Flowers
Bill Murray is Don Johnston, a modern-day Don Juan who one day discovers an unsigned letter in a pink envelope — one of his relationships 20 years ago apparently yielded a son. He embarks on a cross-country journey to visit four former girlfriends and hopefully find the anonymous mother. The lack of a convincing plot, and more importantly, a point, means that those two hours of your life are better spent elsewhere. (Kelley Rivoire)
HHH Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Willy Wonka invites five children to his factory by hiding golden tickets in random chocolate bars. You have naughty kids getting their just desserts, a good kid rewarded with a happy ending, and lots and lots of chocolate. Talk about a win-win situation. (Bill Andrews)
HH1/2 Fantastic Four
The special effects are amazing; the action scenes are exciting and not encumbered with too much dialogue and — for once — the good guys went to MIT. The character development, while shallow and predictable, is better than your average comic book flick. (Bill Andrews)
HHHH March of the Penguins
Capturing a range of stunning images from the lighthearted, with penguins coasting along the ice on their bellies, to the majestic, with a seemingly infinite line of penguins marching to the sea and jagged walls of ice, this documentary surely pulls at the heartstrings of all who watch it. (Kelley Rivoire)
HHH1/2 Murderball
Murderball, the original name of quadriplegic rugby, was invented in Canada in 1979. The movie excels most when it relates the lives of its players to ours through familiar activities. Moreoever, it gracefully portrays the impact of the sport on the journey quadriplegics travel, from coping with their condition to parenthood. (Kapil Amarnath)
HH Must Love Dogs
John Cusack and Diane Lane, both recently divorced, predictably fall in love after a bumpy initial relationship, the result of meddling on the internet by pushy friends and family. My showing was attended primarily by groups of old ladies and slightly awkward, lonely-looking men, and unless you fall into one of those groups, I’d suggest skipping this one. (Kathy Lin)
HH1/2 Red Eye
It’s 2 a.m., your flight’s been delayed three times already, and you have a fear of flying to boot. And on top of that, the cute guy you were flirting with before boarding turns out to be a sadistic freak working for terrorists. If you can relate, then perhaps Red Eye is the right movie for you. Even though it is a thriller, and not the traditional horror we’ve come to know and love from director Wes Craven, there are still many scares and suspenseful moments. (Bill Andrews)
HHH War of the Worlds
The master of grandeur, Steven Spielberg, has produced yet another science-fiction masterpiece — “War of the Worlds” is the edge-of-your-seat summer thriller that we’ve been awaiting. When aliens suddenly start coming out of the ground and killing everything in sight, we see the struggle to survive as well as the terror humanity must face. (Yong-yi Zhu)
HH1/2 Wedding Crashers
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn never seem to do their real jobs as divorce mediators; instead they crash weddings on a regular basis (going to weddings uninvited, drinking free booze, and meeting, then sleeping with girls there). If you’re looking for a lighthearted summer comedy with some stupid humor and superfluous sex, then “Wedding Crashers” may be the perfect movie for you. (Yong-yi Zhu)
Compiled by Kevin Der
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