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Show The College Times A7 MONDAY. JANUARY 7. 2008 Focus Features Movies of Christmas past Though the '07 season is gone, the movies are not LukeHickman Life editor Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story What appeared to be a one-trick pony has easily become the funniest adult movie of the season. Cowriter Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, 40-Year-OldVirgin) is on a role. Only he could make a nearly two-hour spoof of Ray and Walk The Line and keep you laughing from beginning to end. And previously dramatic actor John C. Reilly (Magnolia, Talladega Nights) has once again shown that he can master the comedic acting form, too. Be warned, Walk Hard is very adult. While the first and third acts have the tone of a PG-13 Will Ferrell movie, act two is all about the dark times in Dewey's life, which are very R-rated. They show things on the big screen that nobody knew they could get away with. National Treasure: Book of Secrets What's the big difference between 2004's National Treasure And Book Of Secrets? 2004's was at least witty, funny, entertaining arid somewhat intelligent. Book Of Secrets is a cookie-cutter clone that feels like it was written by the studio while the writers were out on strike, except Disney has no excuse because it wasn't. This time, Nick Cage's cornball character is on a farfetched mission to break national security in order to restore his family's image by clearing a dead ancestor's name and, coincidentally, by doing so, uncover a lost Indian city of gold. Fox Searchlight Juno Though very good, Juno is not the acclaimed "best picture" everyone's saying it is. While the story is natural and intriguing, the screenplay lacks the dialogue the characters (and audience) needs. Instead of keeping the natural tone, screenwriter Diablo Cody threw in some fast, hip lingo that anyone out of high school for longer than two years will become lost within. The story is great, though. A struggling teen goes through the train wreck of troubles that come with her unplanned pregnancy. Paramount Vantage Disney Sony Picture* The Kite Runner Director Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Stay) is successful because he does one thing better than almost every other director out there: he knows his story and characters so well that he can truly bring them to life on the big screen. The Kite Runner is the story of metaphorical sin and the long, tough road to redemption through the culturally different eyes of an Afghani man. Nearly halfway through the movie there's a dry spell where you'd think the story would fizzle out in boredom, but then you're smacked with a rejuvenating scene of such strong emotion that it lifts you up into the character's own personal struggle and carries you through to the end. New Line The Golden Compass The Golden Compass is a hard flick to review. Although it is an entertaining, visually beautiful, fun adventure, it doesn't really go anywhere. We need the second and third installments to measure it. Instead of feeling more like the first chapter in a trilogy, it feels like the first third of a book...incomplete. We find out that people's spirits are tangible animals that walk beside them, that evil is trying to detach children from their spirits and something about dust. The Golden Compass is fun, but you can't really judge it until you've seen the whole picture. MGM The Great Debaters Denzel Washington's sophomore attempt at directing is good but not great. The cast is fantastic, both...Washington and Forrest Whittaker in the same movie. Even the unknown actors are'great. A group of students from different backgrounds set their sights on being the first black debate team to go head to head against Harvard during the civil rights period. And while this hope-inspiring true story is one worth telling and watching, it's not one that will be highly remembered. See MOVIES • A8 New in theaters this week New on DVD this week New on CD this week Home- Buy this boring Rash: Permanent Waves rock CD before your First Sunday-Htm In TheNameofThe The Pirates Who Don't Sunshine-The best 3:10 To Yuma - The best heard of it. King - Looks awful. Know Anything - science fiction movie western movie since Looks CG. since 2001: A Space Tombstone. friends tell you i f s Juno: Music From The set because the butt- gay movie since Brokeback popular. Motion Picture- Buy this rocker inside you knows boring Indie CD before i f s a good thing. Mountain. your friends tell you it's Odyssey. Photo credit: Yahoo! M o v l e j -Buy this high-pitch box Death Sentence- The best popular. Photo credit: Amwon.com Photo credit: Amazon.com |