What a week of openings! The big dilemma is trying to decide which is more unfunny: "Arthur" or "Your Highness." This may have to be settled by a coin toss. Here's what the team that made "Arthur" might have been thinking in remaking the terrific 1981 version which starred Dudley Moore and John Gielgud: Our society has become more vulgar, less literate, more attuned to comedy that's shoved on them rather than to the wit and gentle humor that presumably fit in better with bygone days, like the seventies and early eighties.
It would be easy to dismiss Sucker Punch as simply pandering to its audience. Yes, the movie aims at geek culture in general, teenage males in particular; and as such it certainly offers as much skin and anime-style action as it can provide within the confines of a PG-13 rating. But Punch does not want to just pander to its audience; instead, it aims to be something more than just your average Summer Action Movie, hoping perhaps to reach the lofty heights of "art". Unfortunately, this ambition turns out to be the movie's undoing.
Everyone wants to get their hands on the computer hard drive with incriminating information about arms dealers, gangsters and politicians who party with high-priced night ladies. Catalina, a high-class call girl has the drive and two neophyte private detectives are trying to protect her. She is being chased by the host of very dangerous people including a ruthless assassin who could be mistaken for Helen Mirren. This is the modern equivalent of classic action comedies like FOUL PLAY. Made for today it just is more chaotic, has more nudity, and had more violence including some slightly nauseating scenes of torture. Otherwise the film is funny and fun, a fast, entertaining ride. Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10
Brad Furman directs John Romano's screenplay based on the Michael Connelly novel. A sleazy lawyer has to tread a tricky path to fulfill the law, his responsibility to his client, and his idea of justice in a cleverly plotted legal thriller. Mickey Haller (Matthew McConaughey), is the kind of a lawyer who gives the profession a bad name. He is good at the law and uses it to squeeze the maximum fees from his wealthy clients. When he gets the case of defending a magnate's son charged with rape and assault he finds himself in a tight legal bind that could force him to protect a killer or even get himself killed. This is a tightly-written thriller that at the same time creates a tricky legal puzzle. Rating: high +2 (-4 to +4) or 8/10
This documentary is by turns spectacular and moving. In one Chilean desert astronomers look for the origins of the universe, archeologist find preserved mummies from pre-Columbian culture, and the survivors of the 1973 Chile coup look for the remains of their loved ones. Do not expect a lot of scientific knowledge, but the political message is strong and sincere. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10
The agents of Fate battle the force of Chance in this odd romantic fantasy loosely based on a Philip K. Dick story. Angels or aliens have agents on Earth to make sure that what Fate says will happen really does. Two people who are fated not to meet do meet by chance and fall in love. If they want to stay together they must defeat the little men in suits and fedoras who are the agents of fate. This is a film that nicely balances romance and philosophy. Spoiler warning: I tell a little more of the premise of the film and the agents than the viewer would see in the first ten minutes. If anything it should make the film more interesting for the viewer to know what is going on. Rating: +2 (-4 to +4) or 7/10
  Latest Movie Reviews
By Harvey Critic
HARVEY KARTEN, Ph.D.,
Member NYFCO
They say that the best way to learn a subject is to teach it, and, as a former high school chalk-pusher I heartily agree. In Craig Zisk's 'The English Teacher,' the title character teaches the likes of 'A Tale of Two Cities' while some of the greats taped to the walls like Mark Twain overlook the classroom. The teacher represents learning a lot about Charles Dickens by searching out good questions for classroom discussion. But what this teacher needs to learn about of which she has been content to know little is romance. In a hackneyed but amusing set of interviews with a series of losers whom she blind-dates, she grades each of the men, e.g. an F for a narcissist who doesn't even have money to pay the check and a C for a bore with a mustache. It's not easy to find true love when you're forty-five, but thanks to Dan Chariton and Stacy Chariton who wrote the script for "The English Teacher," she's about to learn that the best way to find the love of your life is not to seek it.
If you can get over the repetitions of Harry Warren and Jack Brooks's 1952 song 'T'at's Amore,' which is neither Italian nor Danish, you may find a few things to like about Susanne Bier's 'Love is All You Need,' which takes place in Copenhagen and Sorrento. Though filled with other cliches of the romantic comedy genre, there is at least one surprise in Anders Thomas Jensen's screenplay from a story by Thomas and the director-one that I didn't see coming though there are a few scenes that allow some hints. And the movie is graced by Trine Dyrholm's expert performance, one which tops even that of Pierre Brosnan. Don't forget that the picture is filmed by Morten Soborg in Sorrento on Italy's stunning Amalfi Coast, the few indoor scenes taken in Copenhagen contrasting with those taken south of Naples. What's more it's the only rom-com in my memory that highlights both Danish and English, the Danes speaking perfect English and the American (of course) hardly any from the country in which he plies his trade.
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PHOENIX, Ariz. - Boxing aficionados, popular culture buffs and fans of Irish literature alike will share their common interests in books and movies about famous boxers in this one-of-a-kind event that includes Jay Tunney, son of the famous Gene Tunney and the U.S. premiere of a new movie about Muhammad Ali. The event is sponsored by the McClelland Irish Library in conjunction with their current exhibit on boxing history, 'The Fighting Irishmen'.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department wants to remind all boaters, anglers, and personal watercraft users that this year's boating season has arrived and to please exercise safe, responsible practices when on the water.
Sedona, Arizona is pleased to announce that over 170 miles of official trails are open to Mountain Bikers.
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 Latest Movie Reviews
By Susan Granger
Member NYFCO
F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous 1925 American novel, set in the sizzling, sexy bacchanal of Jazz Age New York, is now in the cinematic realm of Australian auteur Baz Luhrmann, who turned Paris's Belle Epoque into 'Moulin Rouge' and transformed 'William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet.'
More Susan Granger Reviews
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Madea's fun has long gone and it's all moralistic preaching in Tyler Perry's disappointing new picture.
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Opening with a narration by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), this chapter in the lucrative billionaire-turned-superhero franchise starts with a flashback to his earlier life as a brash-but-brilliant playboy, spending New Year's Eve, 1999, in Berne, Switzerland with scientist Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), while giving an arrogant brush-off to her partner, nerdy geneticist Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce).
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 James Mapes
Quantum Leap Thinking
An Owner's Guide to the Mind
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Although at the time, I didn't realize it, I began my apprenticeship as an entrepreneur when I was six and opened a neighborhood lemonade stand in Zion, Illinois. I didn't know I was furthering my entrepreneurial life when making hand-printed fliers, advertising my services for babysitting, grass cutting and staging children's magic shows - at the age of twelve. My younger years were full of rebellion, plotting and planning. Reading constantly and being somewhat of a loner, I found it very difficult to be engaged in my 'boring' classes. As evidenced by the high school reports cards that my brother gave me last year, the consensus of all my teachers was: 'He is obviously intelligent, but his mind is constantly wandering and he just doesn't pay attention.'
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One of my favorite words in the English language is 'creativity' and one of my least favorite is - 'sacrifice'. I have a visceral reaction to both. Creativity resonates as full of possibility, adventure and limitless imagination. My gut reaction to sacrifice is losing or giving up something I really want. The word instinctively makes me want to run the other way. Yet, it is impossible to achieve a worthwhile goal in the long-term without sacrificing something in the short-term.
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Finding Arizona Reporter
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