Latest releases
By Times Staff
Published October 27, 2005
Bewitched
DIRECTOR: Nora Ephron
CAST: Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Michael Caine, Shirley MacLaine, Kristin Chenoweth, Jason Schwartzman, Steve Carell
SYNOPSIS: Ferrell stars as an actor slumming in a TV remake of Bewitched, alongside a newcomer (Kidman) who actually casts spells.
WHAT WE SAID: St. Petersburg Times film critic Steve Persall gave the movie a D. "Ephron's version of Bewitched will leave fans of the 1960s sitcom bothered and bewildered. The movie takes an entirely different approach to remaking a familiar TV show, but winds up more disappointing than most of the other retreads out there," he wrote. "Everything gets so removed from the source that Bewitched could be titled anything else and few would notice the resemblance. Imitation would certainly be more flattering."
MPAA RATING: PG-13; profanity, sex and drug references, partial nudity
RUNNING TIME: 102 min.
Herbie: Fully LoadedDIRECTOR: Angela Robinson
CAST: Lindsay Lohan, Michael Keaton, Matt Dillon, Breckin Meyer, Justin Long
SYNOPSIS: The most famous Volkswagen in the world returns, with Lohan behind the wheel, swapping paint with a NASCAR bad guy (Dillon).
WHAT WE SAID: Persall gave the movie a C-. "Herbie: Fully Loaded is time warp cinema, taking viewers back to days when the harshest word spoken was "gosh," and nobody got hurt or naked. It's a painfully dated piece of entertainment, despite starring current teen idol Lindsay Lohan and venturing into NASCAR territory, arguably the most popular spectator sport today. It's a movie made for people who believe they don't make actors like Dean Jones anymore," he wrote. "There's a place in the world for movies such as Herbie: Fully Loaded, and it's called home video."
MPAA RATING: G; reckless driving
RUNNING TIME: 101 min.
House of WaxDIRECTOR: Jaume Collet-Serra
CAST: Elisha Cuthbert, Chad Michael Murray, Brian Van Holt, Paris Hilton, Jared Padalecki, Jon Abrahams, Robert Ri'chard
SYNOPSIS: Twentysomethings (including Hilton, in her movie debut) are stalked by a madman who turns victims into mannequins.
WHAT WE SAID: Times reviewer Philip Booth gave the movie a D-plus. "Did you hear the one about the group of young people, stuck out in the middle of nowhere, who stumble upon a terrible secret and pay an awful price for their faux pas, suffering through a series of horrible deaths? Sure you did," he wrote. "House of Wax is about as scary as the possibility that Paris Hilton, the famous-for-being-famous hotel heir, will notch a career as a serious actor, based on the acclaim coming for her head-splitting turn here. Boo."
MPAA RATING: R; horror violence; sexual situations
RUNNING TIME: 116 min.
Melinda and MelindaDIRECTOR: Woody Allen
CAST: Radha Mitchell, Will Ferrell, Chloe Sevigny, Jonny Lee Miller, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Wallace Shawn, Larry Pine, Steve Carell
SYNOPSIS: Allen tells the same story twice, once from a comedic perspective and once from a dramatic.
WHAT WE SAID: Persall gave the movie a C-. "Woody Allen has run out of things to say. Even worse, he has run out of clever ways to say the same thing again. He has become the dead shark that Alvy Singer used to describe the end of his relationship with Annie Hall, a demise caused simply by not moving forward," he wrote. "Melinda and Melinda can't be considered anything more than an aging filmmaker's whim, a reason to get out of bed and go to work, banking on his legacy to attract name actors and a few die-hard fans."
MPAA RATING: PG-13; profanity, sexual and drug themes
RUNNING TIME: 100 min.