Cliches Abound in When in Rome
February 3rd, 2010 by Chris Stuckmann
Grab a seat in your favorite chair, kick back, relax and check out Quick Movie Reviews’ Chris Stuckmann and his video review treatment of the Kristen Bell/Josh Duhamel comedy vehicle When In Rome. With two bright young stars showcased in a comedic formula like this how can the movie possibly be bad? The romantic comedy also features performances by William Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard and Danny DeVito. Continue reading ‘Cliches Abound in When in Rome’
What’s better than a movie about a father hell bent on revenge over his daughter’s murder? Plot lines rarely get more visceral and thrilling as do these type of tales. I said it before and I will say it again, a father’s love for his daughter knows no boundaries and from the trailers of Mel Gibson’s latest film opening this Friday, Edge of Darkness, it looked like I was dead on with my way of thinking. 
My name is Chris Stuckmann, up and coming movie critic on 
Let the games begin! No, I’m not referring to the upcoming Winter Olympics. Rather, those were the words that rang through my mind as we entered 2010. I looked forward with cinematic excitement as the list of releases brought child-like excitement to my eyes. Up to the halfway mark of 2009, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever be able to fill out my top-10 list for movies of the year. Now granted, we’re not even out of January yet, but I still do not have anything in mind to throw on that list for 2010. 
Commercials for The Lovely Bones are promoting the movie as a supernatural murder-mystery where a teenage girl who is killed helps her father solve the crime from the after life. It’s understandable why Paramount and DreamWorks SKG decided to market the movie, based on the 2002 novel of the same name by Alice Sebold, this way since it summarizes the story in a way that can be understood in 60 seconds or less. 
At last year’s 
There’s a good movie in there somewhere. It just never surfaced. Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis are all impressive in front of the camera, but even their acting abilities could not save The Book of Eli. The film played out in such a lethargic fashion that part of me would rather be a human piñata at a party full of people with violent Tourettes than suffer through this film a second time. 
The first time I was exposed to The Book of Eli was at San Diego 
Every once in awhile a movie comes around that truly tests one’s faith. Spoken like a religious man who understands fate, huh? I can’t even imagine how I am going to react when my dog dies, whether lone how I would truly respond emotionally, mentally and physically should I ever, God forbid, lose a child. The heartbreak must be unimaginable. Thus is the tale of The Lovely Bones. 
Today I braved the harsh Cleveland winter to have some Saturday morning fun at the cinema with everyone’s favorite martial artist Jackie Chan. I mean, c’mon, who doesn’t like Jackie Chan? His onscreen presence usually warrants a marginally safe draw at the box office and he seemingly always delivers good clean family fun. The same train of thought holds true for his latest feature film, The Spy Next Door. 
Jackie Chan just has this unmistakable likeability factor. He’s kind of like the Chicago Cubs of actors. I mean, who out there really hates the Cubs? Even though they haven’t won a Series since Christ was a mess cook, people still adore the team. It’s the same with Chan, who, even after making an abysmal film like Rush Hour 3, still has his followers. As we ease our way into the new year, the masterful martial artist has released his latest film, The Spy Next Door. 
True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, Twilight and a forthcoming Underworld film. Vampires are indeed hip again. It takes me back to the not so distant days of the 90’s when vampire stories and the occasional production were all the rage. History certainly does repeat itself. Here we are in a very young 2010 and brothers Michael and Peter Spierig have brought us another blood-soaked brick in the wall of vampire masonry, Daybreakers. 
If 2010 proves to be a year scarred by a multitude of bad films (which I don’t think will be the case), I will always have the Broadway-based Nine to make my top ten list. Starring Daniel Day Lewis as the overworked and oversexed film director Guido Contini, the man is surrounded by a barrage of talented and gorgeous female co-stars. Before I run down the roster of who’s who in the film, let me inform you that these women didn’t just act in the film, they danced and did their own singing as well. 
Up in the Air has been one of the most talked about dramas this winter and with good reason. It has a terrific cast, a genuinely funny script and features stellar performances by everyone involved. Finally there is a movie that critics and audiences can both agree on. Director Jason Reitman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Sheldon Turner (The Longest Yard), proves his ability to handle comedy was not limited to Juno or Thank You For Smoking. 
Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker are starring in a new movie together, which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone since the pairing screams “romantic comedy gold mine!” Alas, the two don’t have great chemistry and the premise for Did You Hear About the Morgans? is unoriginal. Grant and Parker play Paul and Meryl Morgan, a high-powered New York couple—she’s in real estate, he’s a lawyer–who have been separated since slept with another woman. 
The Young Victoria satisfies the necessary requirements for a movie that deals with the history of the royal family in the 19th century. There are opulent costumes, some political intrigue, repressed emotions and the suffocating rules of social propriety. Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) manages to keep The Young Victoria focused on the title character as she navigates the early years of her reign as queen as well as her romance with Prince Albert, who she later married. 
Even if I used terms such as clever, bright, ingenious, adept, cunning, discerning, quick-witted, resourceful, shrewd, versatile and keen, I could never come close to describing the attributes of the fictional character Sherlock Holmes. And to think, I once thought the television character MacGyver was the most brilliant and quick thinking man I ever known. 
Disappointment is a feeling no one enjoys, especially when it comes to a movie with a good deal of positive buzz surrounding it. So, when it comes to Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, a film boasting a great cast and director, it is even more of a let down. Not to be mistaken, Holmes is an action-packed film with some great comedic relief, wit and an all around sense of verisimilitude. 
