Daily News - Gary Thompson http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson RSS Feed for Gary Thompson en-us Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:49:50 GMT ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ falls flat http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20080821_Fly_Me_To_The_Moon_falls_flat.html If 3-D is to become the wave of the future in Hollywood, it will not be because of "Fly Me To The Moon." The technology may be updated, but the story of flies hitching a ride to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission needs a booster rocket, or something. ‘Hamlet 2’: You’ll be bard stiff http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20080821_Hamlet_2__Youll_be_bard_stiff.html The overrated "Hamlet 2" is one of those straight-out-of-Sundance "sensations" with a smug belief in its own subversiveness. 'The Rocker' just doesn't roll http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20080820__The_Rocker__just_doesn_t_roll.html Now subbing for Jack Black (out with a broken funny bone?) in the role of potbellied dork with an unquenchable belief in the power of rock, Rainn Wilson. Stiller fires on Hollywood http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20080812_Ben_Stiller_digs_at_the_art_of_stardom__wrapped_in_a_war_movie.html IF THE New Yorker's Obama cover had folks fired up, Robert Downey Jr.'s turn in "Tropic Thunder" might cause actual spontaneous combustion. 'Baghead' a mumble-bore http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20080808__Baghead__a_mumble-bore.html So-called Mumblecore goes mainstream in "Baghead," one of the first movies of its kind to get national theatrical distribution. Potent whiff of comedy http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20080805_Pineapple_Express_a_well-paced__pot-driven_plot.html I TALKED to a director the other day who was a bit miffed that I referred to his movie as being under "the Apatow umbrella." No offense intended. I was merely noting that as a producer, Judd Apatow has a knack for assembling diverse talent in a way that generates comedies of a consistent tone, and there's no better example of this than the pothead laugher "Pineapple Express." Digital graphics doom sequel http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20080731_mummy.html In the latest "Mummy" sequel, an evil Chinese emperor returns to loose his army of clay soldiers upon the world. He must be stopped, of course, because if this warlord were to conquer everything with his terra-cotta legions, the world will have gone to pot. 'Vote': On the trail of a not-so-lovable loser http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20080731_Swing_Vote__On_the_trail_of_a_not-so-lovable_loser.html Say this much for "Swing Vote": It's different. Different, certainly, from the sort of political movie we've seen recently with "Wag the Dog," "Bulworth" and others. Teenage wasteland http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20080731_American_Teenzeroes_in_on_surprising_lives_of_rural_students.html Sugar, spice, everything nice - that's what little girls are made of. As for teenage girls, well, you might find a little battery acid in there. Or so we gather in "American Teen," a documentary about life at a Midwestern high school that gives you an unfiltered look at what apparently normal, all-American teens do routinely - some of it worse than what you see in a Pacific Rim horror movie. Round 2 of 'X-Files' just not cutting it http://www.philly.com/dailynews/columnists/gary_thompson/20080725_Round_2_of__X-Files__just_not_cutting_it.html Networks have stopped broadcasting threat levels, Larry King has started doing UFO shows again, and there's an "X-Files" movie in theaters.