The Bottom Line

The Proposal

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Betty White
Directed by: Anne Fletcher
Rated: PG-13 for sexual content, nudity and language.
Parental Notes: This is a pretty standard PG-13 romantic comedy. The nudity is comedic and the sexual content is minimal.

There's very little new in "The Proposal" -- it's a standard romantic comedy, and thoroughly delighted to be one. It's a charming film with charming characters, and it makes it easy to forget that the story is not a new one and that its underlying premise (that its career-driven female protagonist needs to lighten up and find a man to take charge in order to be happy) is old and tired. If you don't mind that, it's a charming film. If you do mind it, well, you may laugh at the jokes and enjoy the characters, but the final act will leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) is a high-powered editor at a New York book publishing firm. She's good at what she does, but her underlings are terrified of her and call her "Satan's Mistress" (among other things). Her beleaguered assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) slaves away dutifully, hating her all the while, in hopes of earning a promotion to become an editor himself. When Margaret's bosses inform her that her visa application has been denied and she's going to be deported to her native Canada, she tells them that she and Andrew are getting married. This is news to Andrew, but he agrees to go along with the plan provided that he gets a few things in return, starting with that promotion he wants. Soon the two are off to Alaska for his grandmother's 90th birthday celebration to announce their engagement and practice for their upcoming immigration interview.

Of course, Andrew has a loud, welcoming family who adore Margaret and make her feel right at home -- which makes her feel guilty for deceiving them about her and Andrew's sham wedding. And as she learns more about the assistant she's always mocked and ignored, she (of course) finds herself warming up to him. And well, love and hate are two sides of the same coin, so it's no surprise when Andrew finds himself falling for her.

Bullock is perfect for the role. She's gotten a bit frighteningly skinny, but it fits the part (we first see Margaret on an exercise bike), and she's top-notch at the sort of fish-out-of-water comedy the Alaska part of the film calls for. Reynolds does a solid job as well, though one has to wonder where Andrew finds time to built those big gym muscles, given that he is at his overbearing boss's beck and call twenty-four hours a day. They do have good chemistry together, especially during the New York sections and when Andrew is driving a hard bargain and forcing Margaret to live up to her end of the deal. The supporting characters are fairly stock, but still a hoot, especially Betty White as Andrew's grandmother.

"The Proposal" isn't breaking new ground, nor does it seem to be trying to do so. It's sweet and charming and totally unashamed in its neat boxing of men and women into their standard romantic comedy roles. The humor gets pretty broad at times, but in a straightforward, modern romantic comedy that's not much of a surprise. If you're looking for another serving of romantic cheese from Hollywood, "The Proposal" will hit the spot. If you're looking for a realistic, egalitarian take on romance, keep looking.

The Taking of Pelham 123

Directed by: Tony Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, James Gandolfini
Rated: R for violence and pervasive language.
Parental Notes: There's lots of swearing here, and a fair bit of violence. Not suitable for youngsters, but fine for teens and mature preteens, provided the language isn't a problem for you.

There's a certain delight to a straightforward, well-plotted thriller. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" has a clever story, engaging heroes, a menacing villain, and very, very little in the way of extraneous material. Everything here is going toward the story or the characters, and the pacing is spot-on. That's no surprise when you see that Brian Helgelend wrote the screenplay, adapting from John Godey's novel of the same name. Helgelend penned the brilliant "L.A. Confidental" screenplay, among others, and he has brought his ear for dialog and knack for top-notch pacing and character development to this new film.

The setup, once all the pieces fall into place, is straightforward: armed men have hijacked a New York subway train and stopped it between stations. Their leader, who calls himself Ryder (John Travolta) is demanding10 million dollars, and threatening to kill a passenger every minute if his deadline isn't met. The man on the other end of the radio is Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), a life-long subway employee who's had some rough times lately. His times are about to get a lot rougher. When hostage negotiator Lt. Camanetti (John Turturro) shows up, Ryder won't talk to him. He likes Garber, feels they're on the same page. Garber has no experience with anything like this, but he's thrust into the position of negotiator for the lives of eighteen of his fellow New Yorkers.

The acting is largely superb. Garber is a complex guy, basically good guy who wants to do what's right but sometimes makes mistakes. Washington makes us believe that he's both a good person at heart and a fallible, imperfect human -- which makes his bravery and efforts to save the hostages all the more admirable. Turturro blends into his character like he always does, but the arc his character gets -- starting out suspicious of Garber and winding up coaching him on the finer points of hostage negotiation -- lets him flex his considerable acting muscles.
Travolta is, well, Travolta, and depending on your tastes he is either the most awesome thing about this film or the weakest link in an otherwise stellar cast. His performance is less a creation of Ryder as a consistent character and more reminiscent of someone doing an over-the-top Travolta impression. There's lots of scenery chewing and posturing, and while it's not as painful as it could be because it more or less fits the dialog Ryder's been given, it's a bit odd when contrasted with the restrained performances by everyone else in the cast.

Still, "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" is a good, solid thriller. There's plenty of tension to go around, and while the ending is a trifle weak, its two hour running time flies by. There's just enough humor to keep it from being unrelentingly dark, and plenty of suspense even after the hostages are out of the picture. If you're looking for a straightforward thrill ride, this film should hit the spot. If you're looking for anything else, though, give "Pelham" a pass.

The Hangover

Directed by: Tod Phillips
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zack Galifianakis, Justin Bartha, Heather Graham
Rated: R for pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material.
Parental Note: This is not a film for kids. It's gleefully vulgar and packed with adults behaving badly.

Alcohol and bachelor parties have a long and notorious history together, and most folks seem to have stories about the crazy things they or one of their male friends did at a pre-wedding bacchanal. "The Hangover" takes all those stories and inflates them almost to the breaking point, stopping just shy of utter surreality.

The film opens with Phil (Bradley Cooper) calling his best buddy's fiance on the morning of her wedding to tell her that he and the other groomsmen messed up: Doug (Justin Bartha) is missing. They lost him during the bachelor party weekend.

Flash back two days and Doug is getting everything together for his weekend with the boys. His father-in-law-to-be loans him a beautiful Mercedes, warning him to take good care of it. This is, of course, a bad sign. Doug's brother-in-law-to-be, Alan (Zack Galifianakis), an odd, awkward guy who appears to have been born an outcast, goes with him to pick up the others. Phil is a schoolteacher -- but not the nice, inspiring kind. He's been telling his students to bring $90 for the upcoming observatory field trip, then putting the cash in his "Vegas" envelope. Stu (Ed Helms) is a dentist with an overbearing, unpleasant girlfriend -- he's told her they're going to wine country.

Where they're actually going, of course, is Las Vegas. They check in at Caesar's Palace, springing for a $4,200 a night villa suite, then head up to the roof to admire the view and share shots of Jaegermeister. After that... well, after that, they wake up in the suite. It's the next morning. They're down one bridegroom and up a missing tooth, a tiger, a crying baby, a couple of chickens, and three very horrible hangovers. They can't remember what happened, but they have to find Doug.

In the course of retracing their steps they meet interesting people, including Jade (Heather Graham) a stripper Stu apparently married; Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong), a very short and very mean mobster type; and Mike Tyson. The tiger is his, and he's surprisingly nice about the fact that it got stolen by a bunch of guys on a bachelor party bender.

The characters are all fairly standard comedy trope types, but they're handled well. These aren't stupid guys, really, just sort of average. Stu is a bit self-aggrandizing but ultimately a pushover: he likes to tell people he's a doctor, but Phil is always quick to point out that he's just a dentist. Phil is often a bad influence, but he's also the sort who'll also tell you to your face that your girlfriend is a horrible person and you should dump her (so far, sadly, Stu has not listened to him). Alan is just plain weird, but likeable in spite of it -- thanks to Galifianakis' spot-on performance, which walks the tightrope between too weird and too pathetic.

"The Hangover" is the cinematic equivalent of a bunch of friends trading stories of crazy stuff they did while utterly drunk out of their minds. It's packed with vulgarity and poor decision-making, and utterly hilarious in that "I'm glad that didn't happen to me!" kind of way.

Drag Me To Hell

Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Alison Lohman, Justin Long, Lorna Raver, Dileep Rao, David Paymer
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of horror violence, terror, disturbing images and language.
Parental Notes: This is not for kids who can't handle scary movies. There's plenty of disgusting and startling stuff here, monsters and demons and all of that. Teens may enjoy it, but youngsters prone to nightmares should be kept home.

Sam Raimi is probably best known for his work on the "Spider-Man" and "Evil Dead" franchises. His latest film, "Drag Me To Hell," is very much in the latter vein. It's a throwback to old-fashioned horror movies, full of sudden noises and scary visuals to make you jump, disgusting images, and lots of dark humor. Is it cheesy? Yes. Is it predictable? Yes. Is it worth seeing if you're a horror fan? Yes!

Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is a sweet but ambitious young woman. She moved from the family farm to the big city, is dating a professor, and is working at a bank, where she's got her heart set on the Assistant Manager position. Her manager is dithering between her and her nasty new coworker, so when he tells her that she needs to be able to make the tough decisions, she takes him seriously. Unfortunately for her, this leads to her turning down an old gypsy woman for an extension on her mortgage payment -- and any horror afficionado knows that you don't mess with old gypsy women. Christine winds up cursed: for three days, an evil spirit known as the Lamia will torment her, and then it will drag her to hell to be tortured for all eternity.

Christine's torments are filled with Raimi's trademark gross-out humor, from a high-pressure nosebleed to what may be the most disgusting hand-to-hand fight this reviewer has ever seen. This isn't a torture-porn horror film in the style of "Saw" or "Hostel;" the scares are a mix of sudden shocks and utterly disgusting moments. We're never in doubt that bad things are about to happen. The question is just how bad they'll be. Raimi's sense of timing and scale is so good that even when it's clear the sudden, jump-inducing moments are coming, they're still effective.

Sure, the final plot point is telegraphed so broadly that it's impossible to miss: that's part of the charm of this sort of film. When you sit down to your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant, there are no surprises in store (you hope!). You know what you're about to get, and you're glad of it. "Drag Me To Hell" is that, in horror movie form. Thoroughly predictable and a lot of fun. Being able to see the drops and curves coming up on the roller coaster track doesn't make the ride any less exciting.

The special effects are for the most part excellent, and CGI is used sparingly and effectively. There's a talking goat that manages to be at once hilarious and very creepy, and plenty of body fluids, creepy-crawlies, and combinations thereof to go around, not to mention plenty of prosthetic makeup and some very old-school shadow, wind, and wire work which is pleasantly effective. As much as Raimi clearly delights in over-the-top stuff, he's not afraid to go subtle too.

Fans of torture porn horror shouldn't waste their time, and folks not into the blend of horror and comedy that is Sam Raimi's specialty should likewise stay away. But if you're the kind of person who's seen "Evil Dead II" a hundred times, you must not miss "Drag Me To Hell."