Directed by: Tom Shadyac
Starring: Steve Carell, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, Morgan Freeman
Rated: PG for mild rude humor and some peril.
Parental Notes: Like the ratings note says, this is PG for a little rude humor (bird poop jokes, for example) and some peril (like frightened folks getting taken for a watery ride in the ark), but it's probably fine for all but the littlest ones.
Back in 2003, Jim Carrey starred in the lightweight comedy "Bruce Almighty." It was full of Carrey's trademark lunacy, but also had a sweet side and a few things to say about religion and the average person's relationship with God. Now, director Tom Shadyac and writer Steve Oedekirk have gotten back together and taken the best elements of that film to create a sequel-of-a-sort, "Evan Almighty." Although it's a bit different, this new film is excellent and well worth seeing for anybody who can laugh at religion and still think it has something good to say.
Evan Baxter (Steve Carell, "The Forty-Year-Old Virgin") was introduced as a bit character in "Bruce Almighty." A snooty newscaster, he beat Bruce out for the position of anchor and wound up on the receiving end of some of Bruce's divine wrath. Since then, Evan has run for and won a seat in Congress, and the film opens with his family moving to a lovely new suburb as he prepares for his first days in office. Encouraged by his wife Joan (Lauren Graham, "The Gilmore Girls" series), Evan prays for God to help him fulfill his campaign slogan and "change the world." The next morning, increasingly bizarre things begin happening to him, starting with mysterious deliveries of tools and wood and culminating with the appearance of God (Morgan Freeman, "Lucky Number Slevin").
God wants Evan to build an ark, and he is not taking "no" for an answer. Evan keeps trying to work, co-sponsoring a bill with Congressman Long (John Goodman, "Cars"), but animals are following him everywhere and more wood keeps being delivered to his house. When he finally agrees and starts to constructing the ark, his facial hair grows (and regrows instantly when he shaves it) until he starts looking like the classical image of Noah. A robe appears, and turns out to be the only thing he can wear out of the house without it vanishing. He tries to both work on the ark and work in congress, but he can't. And worse, there's no sign of rain.
Carell is a top-notch comedian, and he really shows his range in "Evan Almighty." He handles a slapstick-filled construction montage with the sort of fully-comitted intensity one expects of the old silent film comedians. He handles the sort of self-deprecating awkward humor of a man out of his element very well. He even manages to pull off scenes with animals without looking utterly ridiculous, which is impressive.
Morgan Freeman seems like he was born for the role of God. He walks the line between being too serious and too flippant just right, and the result is a gentle, friendly deity who's very appealing, even when he's being merciless in giving folks what they need rather than what they want. When he tells Evan that everything he does, he does out of love, we believe him, even if we can't help wincing at Evan's misery.
One of the strengths of "Evan Almighty" as opposed to "Bruce Almighty" is that its leading man isn't eagerly over-the-top. We can laugh with Evan rather than at him, and he's an extremely sympathetic character. Folks who are looking for another "Bruce Almighty" will probably be disappointed -- Evan is a more serious character than Bruce, and "Evan Almighty" is a lot lighter on the scenery-chewing and over-the-top idiocy. However, those looking for a nice light comedy with a touch of religious philosophy will likely find it hits the spot.
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Casey Affleck, Ellen Barkin, Scott Caan, Vincent Cassel, Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Elliott Gould, Eddie Izzard, Eddie Jemison, Bernie Mac, Al Pacino, David Paymer, Brad Pitt, Shaobo Qin, Carl Reiner, Julian Sands
Rated: PG-13 for brief sensuality.
Parental Notes: This is a fairly straightforward caper film -- all talk and scheming, little-to-no violence or sex. There's some heavy breathing and innuendo in a few scenes, but that's about it. It will likely go over the heads of youngsters, and it's innocuous for older kids.
Danny Ocean and his crew are back for another outing in "Ocean's 13," and there's plenty of reason for folks who liked "Ocean's 11" but were disappointed by "Ocean's 12" to be concerned. Not only are the original eleven characters back, but almost all the major characters from "Ocean's 12" are too, and there are new adversaries for them to go up against. This brings the total number of central characters to eighteen, which is an awful lot for a film that's not even two hours long. Fortunately, "Ocean's 13" is a solid entry in the series. It doesn't match the brilliance of the first film, but is solidly enjoyable.
The plot is as ornate as we've come to expect from the series, but the basic story is this: Reuben (Elliott Gould) has been horribly cheated in a partnership with Willy Bank (Al Pacino), with whom he was building a new hotel and casino in Las Vegas. When Reuben suffers a near-fatal heart attack from the shock, his old friends decide it's time for some payback. They offer Bank the chance to make things right, and when he declines, they start plotting to make Bank lose big when the new casino opens. The entire crew is on board, but it's a big job.
The only characters missing are Isabel Lahiri (Catharine Zeta-Jones) and Tess Ocean (Julia Roberts), the gals in the lives of Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) and Danny Ocean (George Clooney), respectively. Danny insists they're not along for the caper because it's "not their fight," but snippets of conversation scattered through the film suggest that the ladies are not terribly pleased with our heroes at the moment.
The dialog is snappy as ever, from the throw-away names of the various con schemes they use to the banter between our heroes. As in the other films, the writers don't feel the need to explain every last thing. The one exception to the otherwise spot-on writing is a somewhat tacked on series of scenes which let Danny and Rusty explain their plans. The dialog there is a bit weak, but as exposition scenes go it's fairly decent.
The biggest flaw in the film is that there are so many characters, they all get somewhat short shrift in the plot. In addition, "Ocean's 11" had the advantage that the eleven main characters were all perfect for the caper, since the two had been written together. "Ocean's 13" has a caper which has been designed to the characters, and it's not as good a fit. Yen (Shaobo Qin) hardly gets to show off his acrobatic abilities at all here, for example.
That aside, though, it's a delight to see (nearly) everyone back for a well-crafted adventure. There are plenty of little twists and turns, and even if it doesn't quite keep you guessing, at least it's entertaining along the way.
Directed by: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Kiera Knightley, Bill Nighy, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport, Naomie Harris
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of action/adventure violence and some frightening images.
Parental Notes: This is definitely PG-13 -- there are plenty of scary parts, including one fellow who gets suffocated by tentacles wrapped around his face and shoved into his mouth and nose. However, the combat violence isn't terribly graphic and it's more chaotic than anything. Most teens and preteens should be fine, it's the youngsters you will want to think about before taking.
The "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy has come to a close. The latest installment, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," is less of a third installment and more like the second half of the previous film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." It's not a perfect film by any means, but it is a fair bit of fun if you aren't demanding too much of it.
The new film picks up shortly after the last one ended, with Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley) and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) working with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Tia Dalma (Naomie Harris) to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) from Davy Jones' Locker. Once Jack has been rescued, the story turns to the conflict between the pirates and the East India Trading Company, which has declared martial law and is going all-out to eradicate the threat to their trade schemes. The Company has the supernatural Flying Dutchman, captained by Davy Jones himself, under its control, and seems unstoppable -- not that insane odds have ever stopped our heroes from trying to save the day. The plot is thoroughly convoluted and has more double-crosses than a pirate crew has gold earrings.
As with the other films in the trilogy, everyone in the cast seems to be having a great deal of fun. Rush is thoroughly wicked as Barbossa, Depp chews scenery with the best of them as Jack, and Bloom and Knightley are just as appealing a couple as they were in the first film. The characters of Elizabeth and Will have grown quite a bit since the first, film, which is nice. Will has gone from naive blacksmith apprentice to scheming pirate over the course of the films, and Elizabeth is truly in her element on a pirate ship about to set sail into full battle, especially now that she knows what that entails rather than just daydreaming about it. Jack Sparrow and Barbossa are just the same, but their characters are so much fun, that's just fine.
The special effects are as phenomenal as ever, and director Verbinski and writers Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio have pulled out all the stops to make the battle scenes as gigantic as humanly possible. One of the more memorable battles takes place in the center of a gigantic maelstrom, a sort of sinkhole in the sea, with the two ships spinning round and round each other, faster and faster, and getting closer and closer together.
"At World's End" is oddly both more weighty and of far less substance than the earlier films. There are hints of a sad, bittersweet tone with the ideas that the pirate way of life is coming to an end and the world is growing smaller and less interesting. But at the same time, the film is so convoluted and complex that every plot line gets slightly shortchanged.
Is "At World's End" a great film? No. It's a fun ride, but not likely to stay with you for long. If all you want is more adventures with our heroes, it should satisfy, but if you're seeking a thoroughly well-crafted adventure film, you're better off watching "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl" again.