Movie Roundup

Movie Roundup

By Mary J. Schirmer

Now that the award season is winding down, it's time for a round-up of recent film releases, from the perspective of a screenwriter. Credits and publicity photos are courtesy of imdb.com. Look at all these writers!

Screenwriters: Jeff Cox (screenplay), Craig Cox (screenplay), Busy Philipps (story), John Altshuler, David Krinsky

Excellent use of twists or maybe I should say triple lutzes. Just when you think you know what's going to happen, something else happens. Grade for structure: A+. Will Ferrell and Jon Heder fans will be tickled.

THE LAST MIMZY

Screenwriters: Bruce Joel Rubin (screenplay), Toby Emmerich (screenplay), James V. Hart (screen story), Carol Skilken (screen story), Henry Kutner (short story), C.L. Moore (short story)

Consistent with the genre of children's movies, these beautiful children are smarter than the adults, and they have a lot of information the adults don't. Charming and satisfying for all age groups. A little scary, too. I actually grabbed Sweet Potato's arm a couple of times. Grade for conflict: A+. Timothy Hutton is such a generous actor. Watch him and learn.

Screenwriters: Adam Mazer (screenplay/story), William Rotko (screenplay/story), Billy Ray (screenplay)

Here is a darkly filmed and disturbing tale of espionage and trickery within secret government agencies. Here's the moral: You just cannot believe what anybody tells you or even what you see with your own eyes, because you don't know why "they" let you see that.. Actors simply don't get any better than Chris Cooper. This true story uses the final moments to scrawl across the screen what happened to the spy.

For once, Adam Sandler plays a grown-up. He looks and sounds different from his usual bumbling alter-ego. If he isn't careful, somebody is going to take him seriously. Don Cheadle plays the comic relief, if you can believe that. This Sept. 11 story stretches the point of believability, but post-traumatic stress takes many forms. At least the filmmakers didn't wrap it up in shiny paper with a pretty ribbon.

Screenwriters: James Vanderbilt (screenplay), Robert Graysmith (book)

This true story starts in such a bloody manner I almost left the theater. It's overly long, and I nodded off two-thirds of the way in (well, it was the late late show). But it's never a good sign when a film critic falls asleep and has to ask her Sweet Potato what happened. He was snoozing, too.

Screenwriter: Brad Copeland

The best yuks come from naked backsides and motorcyclists running into solid objects. Ow! Ray Liotta saves the whole show from dissolving into total silliness. It's fun, though, to watch these actors, who obviously had a great time on their cross-country bike trip.

Screenwriters: Sooni Taraporevala (screenplay), Jhumpa Lahiri (novel)

A slow but visually striking story of culture clash, as a couple from India moves to NYC to work and raise a family. That's about all that happens, so the writers took time to crawl inside the mother's, father's and son's heads to see what ideas are bouncing around.

Screenwriters: Warren Coleman, John Collee, Tyler Coppin, George Miller, Judy Morris

Aw, those cute penguins again. Who can resist a misunderstood, independent-minded, little dancing bird in a tuxedo? I would have liked the film a whole lot better if the writer didn't hit me between the eyes with a two-by-four icicle about environmental issues, at the very end of the movie. This was one of those times when the storytellers should have trusted the audience to take the mental leap.

Screenwriters: Ben Garant (screenplay/screen story), Thomas Lennon (screenplay/screen story), Milan Trenc (book)

I can't think of a reason to go see this embarrassment for Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney. It's not funny, it's not scary, it's not cute, and it's not worth your time or money-- no matter what the box office results were.

Mary J. Schirmer is a professional writer who writes screenplays and teaches screenwriting. Her e-mail is awarenessprod@yahoo.com.