AltWeeklies Wire
'G-Force' is Less Fun Than a Gerbil Up the Heinienew
It's probably not surprising to learn that G-Force, the new 3D half-animated/half-real-life kids movie from Disney and über-producer Jerry Bruckheimer, isn't very good. It's noisy, crude, and nonsensical -- none of which is bad in and of itself -- but it's also insultingly stupid and not nearly funny enough.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
07-24-2009 |
Reviews
'Year One' Tries (and Fails) to be a Monty Python Movienew

Harold Ramis has had a hand in some seriously great comedies -- Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day -- but, lest we forget, he was also responsible for Club Paradise and Stuart Saves His Family. Year One might be better than either of those movies, but not by much.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
06-19-2009 |
Reviews
The Green Card of Doom: 'Crossing Over'new
Crossing Over tries to make us feel bad about the unfair difficulties of becoming a US citizen, and also to make us remember how everybody in the world wants to become an American because, by golly, we're terrific! But if this movie is any indication, we're actually self-righteous, pompous bores.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
03-26-2009 |
Reviews
Cash Documentary Says Nothing Newnew
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is not especially penetrating; it's more of a puff piece using archival photographs and current-day interviews.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
02-05-2009 |
Reviews
Reading Is Magical!: Too Bad 'Inkheart' Is a Movienew
Inkheart is intent on letting you know that books are magically wonderful, and thusly shoots itself in the foot—you'll wish it would hurry up and end so you can go home and read.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
01-22-2009 |
Reviews
'Sputnik Mania': The Cold War Heats Upnew
Sputnik Mania looks back at those days with expertly used archival footage, along with contemporary interviews and even-keeled narration from Liev Schreiber.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
07-24-2008 |
Reviews
'The Walker' Plays Fill in the Blanksnew
The Walker provides glimmers of detail, with hardly any context -- and it's pretty impossible to get into a film when you feel like you're only getting half the story.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
12-27-2007 |
Reviews
Tags: Paul Schrader, The Walker