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'New in Town' taps old tricks
"New in Town" Grade D-: Renee Zellweger plays a company executive sent to shape up a small factory. It is bad enough when a movie uses a worn-out plot gimmick.
"New in Town" multiplies the disappointment by turning to a string of familiar film elements. The result is such a dull, unimaginative and poorly photographed movie that, if it were to move into the house next door, you'd want to change ZIP codes.
"Powder Blue" Grade B: All of the advance publicity for this film had to do with Jessica Biel's nude scenes. It is a shame the focus was not more on the stand-out performances by Biel, Forest Whitaker, Alejandro Romero and Ray Liotta. Even Kris Kristofferson and Patrick Swayze are memorable in minor roles.
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'Watchmen' offers dark vision
"Watchmen" Grade A: Superheroes try to deal with their emotional, mental and social problems while stopping a mysterious killer.
It is vital to know the source material. Director Zack Snyder has made a visually stunning take on the much-heralded 12-edition graphic comic book novel.
How much the viewer embraces the movie will depend on how much knowledge he or she has of the original Alan Moore-Dave Gibbons work.
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New on DVD: 'Transformers 2' confuses
*"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" Grade D+: Michael Bay got by with using eye-jerking action and two- dimensional characters to make the first "Transformers" mindless fun.
This time, he's traded in the fun for rehashed scenes and a muddled plot. The story plays out with Grand Canyon-size leaps of logic.
Bay wastes little time getting to the confusing part of the script: It seems there was a robot war thousands of years ago that ended with a key being hidden. This key has something to do with Egypt, the pyramids and a machine that steals all of the energy from the sun. Trying to figure out what's going on is like putting together a puzzle that is face down.
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Just out on DVD
"Burn Notice: Season Two": Jeffrey Donovan plays a spy who has been disavowed.
"The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Season 2": Brenda Hampton's drama touches on the highs and lows of family life.
"What Goes Up": A group of social misfits look at the challenges of life and love. Hilary Duff stars.
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Set offers good selection of bad movies
“Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XV” Grade B+: The latest DVD set of the always funny series includes blistering comic attacks on four bad movies: “The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy,” “The Girl in Lovers Lane,” “Zombie Nightmare” and “Racket Girls.”
It is hard to pick which is the best of the bad movies. A mad scientist who invents a robot to steal an Aztec artifact is really bad. But, the winner is “Racket Girls.” It stars female wrestlers Peaches Page, Clara Mortensen and Rita Martinez. That’s a trio made for satirical attacks.
The biggest problem with “Mystery Science Theater” when it originally aired on cable was that the humor was so rapid, many of the jokes were missed. The DVD collections allow for repeated viewing to get the full force of this comic onslaught.
"New in Town": Renee Zellweger plays a company executive sent to shape up a small factory.
"Powder Blue": The film deals with a series of stories that overlap. The common thread is how the line between hope and despair is often painfully thin.
"Saturday Morning Cartoons": Volumes of cartoons for both the '60s and '70s are being released.
"Law & Order Special Victims Unit: Year Nine": Long-running NBC police drama stars Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay.
"The Ramen Girl": An American woman (Brittany Murphy) finds herself alone in Tokyo.
"Designing Women: The Complete First Season": The 4-DVD set includes 21 episodes of the CBS comedy. Dixie Carter and Delta Burke star.
"Forever Strong": The film, starring Gary Cole, is based on the true story of a high school coach who has won 18 national championships.
"Killshot": Thomas Jane and Diane Lane star.
"The Closer: The Complete Fourth Season": Kyra Sedgwick stars in this quirky police drama.
"Carnivorous": An ancient voodoo artifact creates trouble for vacationing teens.
"TV Sets: Action Packed": DVD includes episodes of action TV shows such as "Mission: Impossible" and "NCIS."
"Gunsmoke: Season Three, Volume Two": James Arness portrays Sheriff Matt Dillon.
"The Mod Squad: Season Two, Volume One": Peggy Lipton and Clarence Williams II star in this '70s police drama.
"Jeeves & Wooster: The Complete Series": The DVD includes 23 episodes of the British comedy series starring Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.
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