Lady in the Water

RATED: PG-13 for some frightening sequences
RUNNING TIME: 110 MINUTES
STARS: Story (Bryce Dallas Howard), Paul Giamatti (Cleveland Heep), M. Night Shyamalan (Vick Ran), Jeffrey Wright (Mr. Dury).
PLOT: Apartment building superintendent Cleveland Heep rescues what he thinks is a young woman from the pool he maintains. When he discovers that she is actually a character from a bedtime story who is trying to make the journey back to her home, he works with his tenants to protect his new friend from the creatures that are determined to keep her in our world.

Gord Burt 4 Stars

In 1900, L. Frank Baum told a reporter he wrote the Wizard of Oz because he wanted new fairy tales to tell his children. While Lady in the Water may not have the same cultural impact as Wizard of Oz and its subsequent sequels had, Lady in the Water inspires the same kind of awe with its fresh tale in a cluttered fairy tale world.

Director M. Night Shyamalan has said Lady in the Water began as a bedtime story he told his daughters; the story is based on myths, particularly about innocence and faith. Through a legend explained by a slightly neurotic elderly Chinese woman and her daughter, Cleveland learns that Story (yes that’s her name) is, in fact, a narf (which is not, as one might suspect, some kind of undercover pixie) but is instead a water nymph meant to bring great change and awakening to mankind.

Paul Giamatti is fantastic to watch as apartment-complex manager Cleveland Heep with a painful secret who finds the pale, eerie and beautiful Story in his pool. She’s from a nearly forgotten fairy tale, and he has to rally his lovable and nutty tenants to save her by figuring out where they belong in the story. Of course with any Shyamalan film there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Cleveland finds out that there are monsters in this legend, as well, and must spend the rest of the film trying to get Story home by enlisting help from his motley crew of tenants. Finding out who these helpers are and just how they will help is part of the of the film, and Shyamalan finds neat and clever ways to fit them into his puzzle.

All the elements that make for any good Shyamalan film are here. There are very few directors who, virtually shot for shot, find the most interesting place to put the camera, and Shyamalan is one of them.

There’s probably going to be a cult following who will love this movie, while on the other hand, there will be a faction that slams it for not being as good as the Sixth Sense. Neither side is right of course, but Lady in the Water is a different kind of film and a great movie experience.

Erin Harde 5 Stars

When the vessel sees a narf, he will experience a strange sensation, like pins and needles. And when viewers see M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film Lady in the Water, they can look forward to the same spine-tingling shivers. This beautiful piece of storytelling was born from Shyamalan’s wonderful imagination when he told it to his children at bedtime.

Both a mystery and fairytale, Lady in the Water is about Story, a young narf, or water nymph, who makes contact with man after centuries of silence between narfs and humans. Her purpose is to stir the vessel to action by her presence and her divination. It’s a far-fetched idea until you’re watching it and immediately transfixed by Shyamalan’s magic. He smartly doesn’t waste time having the characters wander around in a state of disbelief and cynicism. As lonely caretaker Cleveland Heep, Paul Giamatti is so good and so real, he turns a completely fantastical plot into something tangible. He immediately sees Story for what she is, as do all of the other tenants. This way, Shyamalan has more time for the heart of the movie.

Don’t expect big plot twists like the ones in The Sixth Sense and The Village. Instead, Lady in the Water delivers a small series of surprises. Story tells Cleveland he must find certain people to complete the mission, such as The Healer, The Symbolist and The Guild. It’s too compelling not to become involved with. You’ll be just as desperate to find them as Cleveland.

Like all of his movies, Shyamalan includes a monster in this one. He shows just enough of Story’s enemy, the scrunt, to put you on edge anytime she is outside. Once again, Bryce Dallas Howard, who played a blind girl in The Village, is Shyamalan’s muse. Story rarely speaks, but always radiates a pureness that begs protection.

Next to Howard and Giamatti, an old Asian woman and her daughter hilariously break the tension. The mother is the only one who knows the story of the narf, but to win her over, Cleveland must act childlike - the result is hysterical.

The daughter, between translations, poignantly reveals that she wants to believe the story is real. And really, don’t we all?

You, Me and Dupree

RATED: PG-13 for sexual content, brief nudity, crude humour, language and a drug reference.
RUNNING TIME: 108 MINUTES
STARS: Owen Wilson (Dupree), Kate Hudson (Molly), Matt Dillon (Carl), Michael Douglas (Mr. Thompson).
PLOT: Carl and Molly Peterson are just starting their new life together--complete with a cute house, boring neighbours, stable jobs and the routines of newlywed existence. There's just one unfortunate hitch in their perfectly constructed new world. And his name's Dupree.

Gord Burt 3 Stars

Going into You, Me and Dupree, you might have visions of Wedding Crashers. There are similarities, but at best this latest Owen Wilson flick is an enjoyable but instantly forgettable comedy.

The best part of this entire movie is Kate Hudson, who exhibits qualities so similar to her mom, Goldie Hawn, that it’s almost eerie. Her smile is wonderful; she looks fantastic and she makes every scene she’s in more enjoyable, which forces the male actors to up their game when she’s around. Unfortunately she can’t be in every scene (too bad) and the movie suffers when she’s not on screen.

Matt Dillon does an okay job because, as he’s proven before, he’s a decent straight man. As the exasperated main character, he plays his part as if he has absolutely no idea anything funny is going on around him.

Owen Wilson is Dupree, the loveable loser who loses almost everything: his apartment, job and car (everything except his trusty mounted moose head) setting up the ensuing hijinks. There’s no resisting Wilson’s ragtag appeal, as he spices up the flick with his witty jokes and banter.
Dupree manages to throw in a large amount of toilet humour with one rather explicit masturbation scene and a lot of male-bonding in half-hearted hopes of being a summer hit similar to Wedding Crashers.

Dupree starts the film as an unintentional, yet obnoxious, home wrecker. Then, after a series of unfortunate events, he turns into a pathetic puppy dog who becomes housebroken. Carl devolves from a caring best friend and husband into a boorish lout.

The only one of the main trio who remains consistent is Molly, but there’s a point where we’re not sure where her romantic interests are heading. Then the script, which appears to be turning in Dupree’s favour, direction, does an about-face. It’s as if the filmmakers can’t figure out who they want the audience to sympathize with. It’s not that the jokes fail, they just aren’t there. This is the dramatic second half where Dupree learns and grows as a person.

Despite the decent cast, You, Me and Dupree is one of those throwaway films destined to become lost in the mid-summer onslaught, especially with Superman and Pirates of the Carribean crushing everything in their path.

Erin Harde 3.5 Stars

There seem to be two schools of thought when it comes to Owen Wilson: those who think he is a comic genius; and those who think he’s obnoxious, overrated, poorly groomed and without an iota of comic instinct. The trailers for You, Me and Dupree are deceiving either way.

Frat pack fans are going to expect a raunchy comedy full sex, booze and shallow one-liners, but while there is a smattering of r-rated frivolity, this movie might just be a pleasant surprise for cynics.

Wilson quickly endears himself to viewers as the best friend who is irresponsible and immature, but loveable. He’s also a magnet for disasters, which strains his relationship with his buddy Carl.

As ususal, Matt Dillon’s character is, for the most part, a jerk. At first, we sympathize with him, but eventually Dupree emerges as the hero among the threesome. It’s not his ridiculous mishaps, but the understated lines that turn a potentially awful comedy into a surprisingly sweet and sensitive story. His date with a librarian explodes into flames, literally, before he crashes into a car, but when the cycling enthusiast bravely tells Molly "I ride to where I’m needed," it’s worth more than the cheap stunts and laughs.

Kate Hudson’s character is perky, but she keeps it real. When Carl has the boys over for football and beer without her approval, she makes it clear upon arrival there will be hell to pay. Like Dupree, her character also has a heart of gold and is willing to take him back even when he reduces the living room to cinders. As Dupree and Molly become closer, and Carl is overcome with jealousy and rage, the movie bears certain resemblance to What About Bob? in which Bill Murray plays a kind, funny head case who clings to Richard Dreyfus’s character and installs himself in the family.

Michael Douglas is the evil father-in-law, who goes so far as to suggest Carl should get a vasectomy. He plays it straight, which warrants many laughs and leads one to think that, like Robert De Niro in Meet the Parents, this could be a great new character type for Douglas.
Funny and sweet, You, Me and Dupree underscores what makes for a good friendship and long-lasting marriage. Chances are, many will leave wishing they had a pal like Dupree.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

RATED: PG-13 for intense sequences of adventure violence, including frightening images.
RUNNING TIME: 155 MINUTES
STARS: Johnny Depp (Jack Sparrow), Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swann), Orlando Bloom (Will Turner), Bill Nighy (Davy Jones), Jack Davenport (Norrington).
PLOT: Captain Jack Sparrow is caught up in another tangled web of supernatural intrigue. Although the curse of the Black Pearl has been lifted, an even more terrifying threat looms over its captain and crew.

Gord Burt 4.5 Stars

This movie marks the third year She Said and I have been doing movie reviews and this movie appropriately rates the same as the original Pirates movie, but for different reasons. It has become critical cliche to say that a gleefully executed summer blockbuster makes one feel like a kid again, but this is exactly the feeling you’ll get from Dead Man’s Chest.

The film gives fans what they want: more action, less plodding and most importantly, more Captain Jack Sparrow. Like the first move Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack steals the show and the writers wisely give Depp more screen time. The lunatic is running the asylum now and the plot essentially chases after Sparrow’s madcap misadventures. Sparrow is a perfect example of ham acting, and Depp makes Sparrow the most dashing rogue this side of Han Solo.

Depp’s co-stars are pretty-boy Orlando Bloom and the stunning Keira Knightley, but if they had anything interesting to do in DMC it must have been edited out to keep the already-too-long movie from being any longer. This isn’t their film and they are just window dressing to Depp.
One of the movie’s biggest action sequences (also one of the best swordfights ever captured on celluloid) takes place on an island and features no less than five factions struggling for possession of two items, is heavily influenced not only by Errol Flynn but by Looney Tunes (funny considering this is a Disney movie!) and the Three Stooges.

Oh, and there are cannibals, sea battles, daring escapes, ghost ships and one helluva giant squid. That said, not even the Kraken can steal scenes from Depp, who romps through this sequel with the same mascara adorned, rock-star-as-pirate panache he brought to the first film.

The ending is left wide open and the third one’s on the way, and, yes finally, Keith Richards, Depp’s acknowledged inspiration for Sparrow, will shoot a cameo as Sparrow’s dad. So get ready to set sail with one of cinema’s most enjoyable characters and hang on for the ride; it’s rough seas ahead for Captain Jack Sparrow.

Erin Harde 2 Stars

No amount of swashbuckling, plundering and plank walking could keep Dead Man’s Chest afloat. Don’t let its box office loot fool you. This much anticipated sequel has nothing on the original.
Even with Johhny Depp returning as the swaggering Captain Jack Sparrow, Dead Man’s Chest has an irritating lack of focus, constantly digressing from the main plot with pointless adventures that offer nothing to the story. The convoluted tale has Will Turner searching for Sparrow’s compass so he can return it to the East India Trading Company else Turner and his fiancée Elizabeth Swann will hang. The reason for their sentences seems arbitrary, but then so does most everything else in the movie.

At one point, the main characters are marooned on a desert island, chased down by a native tribe, and Sparrow is almost cooked for dinner. Playing out like a comedy of errors, it’s funny and charming, but has little relevance to the rest of the movie other than to make references to its predecessor.

The bad guys this time round are half-dead pirates who are eternally indebted to Davy Jones, now a literal character rather than just a location. Like Curse of the Black Pearl, the effects are great. With fish heads and various sea creature cling-ons, this slimy crew is way more disgusting than Captain Barbosa’s hearties. Among them is Turner’s father Bootstraps Bill who was a legend from the first movie.

Enslaved to Jones, Bill’s presence complicates Turner’s mission; while it’s clear the estranged father/son thing should be pulling on the heartstrings, it doesn’t. None of the characters are emotionally engaging, including Sparrow. Depp’s performance is just as good, but we’ve seen it before. It ’s much like the first Harry Pottter sequel, in which some of the magic had worn off, but at least the writing was still solid. Pirates relies too heavily on the spectacle and it’s just not enough this time.

Superman Returns

RATED: PG-13 for some intense action violence.
RUNNING TIME: 157 MINUTES
PLOT: Returning after five years, Superman tries to re-enter his old life while Lois, Perry and Jimmy have moved on. Lex Luthor has left prison with the specific intent of using Superman's technological secrets for his own personal gain and glory.
STARS: Brandon Routh (Superman/Clark Kent), Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane), Kevin Spacey (Lex Luthor), James Marsden (Richard White), Parker Posey (Kitty), Sam Huntington (Jimmy Olsen).

Gord Burt 5 Stars

Look! Up on the screen! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No it’s... the long awaited and much anticipated return of the Man of Steel. If the original 1978 Superman movie starring the late Christopher Reeve made you believe a man could fly, 2006’s Superman Returns will have you believing Superman really does exist.

Gone are Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman, though it’s a credit to their replacements that they’re barely missed. Brandon Routh channels Reeve perfectly, though his version of Clark is a little less awkward. It all would have been in vain if Routh had not so capably filled the Man of Steel’s costume. Like Reeve, he is just right physically, looking at times like the old comic book drawings of Superman with his square jaw, muscular build and infamous spit-curl in his hair.

Kate Bosworth provides an altogether different take on Lois. She’s a sexier, more modern version. She’s prettier than Kidder, and there’s more chemistry in her scenes with Routh though she lacks her predecessor’s spunk.

Director Brian Singer’s affection for what Richard Donner did previously is evident. Singer provides us with a blast from the past starting with the opening credits. Not only is the music John Williams’s original score, but the lettering replicates what was used in Superman I and II.

Singer also follows the blueprint established by the earlier Superman films by incorporating Donner’s masterful origin story and Richard Lester’s wonderful sequel. In the character’s movie timeline, Singer’s story occurs five years after Superman II but wisely ignores the ill-conceived III and IV.

Instead of trying to reinvent or modernize Superman, Singer has wisely retained the things we love most about him, taking him into the 21st century but keeping his ‘30s newspaper world; even eager cub reporter Jimmy Olsen still wears a bow tie.

There are other unobtrusive homages to the first two films (Lois’s spelling mistakes, Luthor’s love of maps) that eagle-eyed viewers will catch. Perhaps the most stirring parts are reserved for Marlon Brando’s Jor-El, Superman’s father. Singer used both audio and video clips from Donner’s movies to add Brando and tie the characters and movies together.

Moving faster than a speeding bullet, Superman Returns is at the top of the superhero movie mountain offering everything: romance, action, humour, and plenty of goose bumps.
Dedicated to Reeve and his late wife Dana the movie perfectly captures all that is great about Superman.

Erin Harde 4 Stars

You would have to be a cynical evil doer on par with Lex Luthor to not like this latest sequel about the Man of Steel. What’s not to like about Superman? Brian Singer couldn’t have picked a better loved character than the handsome hero in tights for a summer blockbuster.

Dedicated to the memory of famous Superman actor and philanthropist Christopher Reeve and his wife Dana, Singer perfectly pays tribute to Superman movies of the 1970s and ‘80s, while infusing this updated tale with spectacular CGI and stunts.

Brandon Routh expertly invokes Reeve’s spirit with his quirky delivery of Clark Kent, and is stunning as Superman. Physically, he’s a great choice to play the icon, but he also nails the way Reeve’s Superman joked around while doing something incredibly dangerous at the same time.
As fearless reporter Lois Lane, Kate Bosworth is not only intelligent, but her role has its own muscle. Superman still whisks her up, up and away, but she does some rescuing of her own, both of Superman and her only son. Like the story, Lois has also grown up. She lives with her common law partner and young child of questionable parentage - there are no nuclear families to be found in this modern retelling.

Lois’s new responsibilities come as a shock to Clark, who, after astronomers claimed they found evidence of Krypton, went to find out for himself. His adoptive mother Martha welcomes him home after a lengthy hiatus, while others seem apathetic to the return of Clark Kent. As such, it’s a relief that Superman, at least, meets rave reviews even in the wake of Lois’s Pulitzer prize winning essay on why the world doesn’t need Superman.

Everyone, including Lois, falls in love with Superman again except for Luthor of course. Kevin Spacey plays the evil genius this time around, with the hilarious Parker Posey at his side. His plot to sink existing continents with new land masses stirs a wave of incredible action sequences, and leaves you breathless as Superman hangs between life and death following a Kryptonite attack. Spacey is appropriately despicable, though he comes off more the fool than the super villain - not a bad tactic for a PG-rated show.

There’s a also a neat, albeit predictable, twist, which opens all kinds of possibilities for future sequels. They will be more than welcome if Routh returns and Singer stays at the helm.