Renée Zellweger seems to have been stuck in a rut lately. Since her Oscar-winning performance in Cold Mountain, she's turned her attention to romantic comedies, and the result has been less than stellar. Perhaps she should take Kate Winslet's advice and do a holocaust movie. Or perhaps she should read the scripts before committing to the projects.
Lucy Hill (Renée Zellweger) is an ambitious business executive from Miami living what she considers a good life -- fast track up the corporate ladder, a posh condo, and an active life as a single woman. But being the only woman in the management team means she's to work harder, and soon she finds herself being sent to do a thankless job -- going to a small town in Minnesota, in the dead of winter, to downsize a manufacturing plant. Determined to do what it takes to succeed, Lucy sets out to get in and get out of the god-forsaken town as quickly as possible.
There, she meets a slew of folksy townspeople, most of whom work at the plant which is pretty much the biggest employer. There is Blanche (Siobhan Fallon), her executive assistant who doesn't quite know personal boundaries, and Stu (J.K. Simmons), the beloved foreman who doesn't take Lucy seriously. And Ted (Harry Connick Jr.), the widowed union rep whom Blanche is trying to fix up with Lucy.
Lucy, of course, would have nothing to do with these hillbillies. She's supposed to automate the plant and lay off half the employees. But the more she gets to know these people, the more she understands what's been missing in her life. And despite her first impression, she realizes just how sexy the down-to-earth union rep really is...
Renée Zellweger (Leatherheads) is not a bad actress, but she needs materials that play to her talent and ability, not the other way around. Lately she simply hasn't found the type of roles like the one that netted her an Oscar. Here, she's trying to act cute and sassy but something is off. At first she comes off as smug, and a bit too "weathered." She eases into the role much much as she comes back down to Earth to play a more simple person. Zellweger isn't necessarily miscast here, but she hasn't really risen above the material either.
Harry Connick Jr. (P.S. I Love You) is an odd choice for the "hillbilly" love interest. He does okay, displaying an disarming charm. But his role is too calm, despite an earlier scene in which he and Zellweger get into a verbal spat, to make an impression. He is just blend as the romantic lead.
The supporting cast is rather good in their stereotypical parts, with Siobhan Fallon (Baby Mama) in an amiable role as the meddling secretary. Her fake accent is a bit off-putting, as are that of the other "Minnesotans." J.K. Simmons (Burn After Reading) is his normal goofy, grumpy self, playing the grizzly foreman.
Written by Ken Rance (Wednesday Afternoon) and C. Jay Cox (Latter Days), the screenplay is lame at best, contrived at worst. It's your typical fish-out-of-water story, and the writers pick the most polar (pun intended) opposites: sunny Miami and deep-freeze Minnesota. The problem is, as a comedy, the plot and characters are uninspiring, cliched and stereotypical. I wonder what Minnesotans think about this. The jokes are lame and the characters lack certain believability. Even the courtship between Lucy and Ted seems forced, even though the leads have good chemistry together. There mutual attraction is there, but the progression of their relationship is so trivial.
There are two plot threads going on, one involving the unlikely romance between Lucy and Ted, and the other involving the townsfolk and plant. To the writers' credit, they manage to mesh the two subplots together. The problem is that neither has enough dramatic conflict to sustain the film. The plots move along fine, but somehow we just really don't care, especially since everything is so predictable. We know from the every first scene where the story is going.Danish director Jonas Elmer (Nynne) keeps the plot moving and the characters' interactions simple. The production is workmanlike but it's surprising to see how plain everything looks, even in sunny Miami. I've seen better production value in TV shows.
New in Town is a tired, conventional romantic comedy that may have worked in the 80s but fails to truly engage today's cynical audiences. It's one film that won't stay in town for too long.
Stars: Renée Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr., Siobhan Fallon, J.K. Simmons, Mike O'Brien, Frances Conroy
Director: Jonas Elmer
Writers: Ken Rance, C. Jay Cox
Distributor: Lionsgate
MPAA Rating: PG for language and some suggestive material
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Ratings:
Script – 5
Performance – 6
Direction – 5
Cinematography – 6
Music/Sound– 6
Editing – 7
Production – 6
Total – 5.6 out of 10
After nine years of searching all over the world, Mo "Silvertongue" Folchart (Brendan Fraser) finally finds the book he's been seeking while traveling in Europe with his teenage daughter, Meggie (Eliza Bennett). When a mysterious man called Dustfinger (Paul Bettany) tracks them down, Meggie starts to question what her father is hiding. What she doesn't know is that Mo has a special power: he can conjure things and characters from books he reads into the real world. But he can't control his power, and he accidentally put his wife, Resa (Sienna Guillory) inside a book called 
And that's why he's been searching for the book, in hopes of releasing Resa. Meanwhile, Dustfinger makes a deal to help Mo find Inkheart so that Mo can put him back into his world. At the same time, Capricorn tracks Mo and Meggie down and capture them -- he wants Mo to bring him the treasures and power from the books, and he destroys the only copy of Inkheart Mo has. Desperate, Mo escapes and finds the author of the book, Fenoglio (Jim Broadbent), who agrees to help them by rewriting the story. If only they can get to Capricorn first before he captures and kills everyone.
Brendan Fraser (
Paul Bettany (
Adapted from Cornelia Funke's novel by David Linsay-Abaire (
Iain Softley's (
While the filmmakers' hearts may be in the right place, 
Frank is in a dead-end, meaningless corporate job in the city as a pencil pusher. As a dutiful wife and mother, April is an aspiring actress who has confined by those picket fences that Frank helps paid for with his dull job. They both bought into this suburban lifestyle and now find themselves trapped. Then one day, April has an epiphany: why not sell everything they own and move to Paris? She can make plenty of money doing secretarial work for the government while Frank has all the time he needs to "find himself." The idea is so appealing that Frank agrees to go along with it. Suddenly, happiness and purpose are injected into their lives once again and they even enjoy watching the jealousy on their friends' faces.
Then Frank gets a promotion. When he's just about to give up his so-called career, he (and his company) finds that he's actually very good at what he does. The new-found appreciation, accomplishment and, not to mention, big money rattle their plans. Frank's change of heart plunges April back into depression. And a devastating news makes her realize perhaps her marriage is a sham to being with.
Leonardo DiCaprio (
Kate Winslet (
The supporting cast is very good, even though the film focuses primarily on DiCaprio and Winslet. Michael Shannon (
Adapted from Richard Yates' novel by Justin Haythe (
Taking place through the course of one summer, the story focuses on Frank and April, but is actually a reflection of the social climate of America in the 50s, when middle-class Americans flocked to the suburbs to be "just like everyone else." It's really a social commentary of society then (and now): the office drones, the lovely facade everyone is putting up so they're not "different." As a story about two people in love, however, the writing feels a bit cold. Not to mention by focusing it on Frank and April, the rest of their lives (including their two children, who almost play no part in the film) becomes secondary, as if these two people were completely defined by their woeful existences in the suburbs. I mean, don't they have real friends? Don't they have hobbies and outside interests? I guess it's fascinating for me to take a peek into the lives of the 50s white-bread America, but I can't help but feel left out somehow. Frank and April's cold war is not the only thing that leaves me cold. In fact, most of the characters just aren't every likable -- I don't mind unlikable characters, but give me something to root for. Or I'll have to slap someone on the face soon.
Sam Mandes (
Their dreams come true when their respective boyfriends Daniel (Steve Howey) and Fletcher (Chris Platt) propose. Just their luck, their dream wedding planner Marion St. Claire (Candice Bergen) is available and best of all, there are three time slots open in June at the Plaza. All is well until a mistake is made, and both Liv and Emma are booked on the same date, and the other bride would not change her date.
At first, the two brides-to-be try to work things out; then everything comes to a head when both realize the other is not giving in. Their envy and insecurity escalate into an out-and-out war, completely with one-upmanship and childish behaviors. Their friendship is put on ice when they both vie to be "the" bride of the day.
Kate Hudson (
The supporting cast is mostly peripheral in this two-women show. As their respective beaus, Chris Pratt (
The script by Greg DePaul (
There are plenty of cliches to go around, of course. And the jokes seem rather tired sometimes, and the behaviors of the two characters become more and more sophomoric and childish. Still, it works in the context, and serves as a social commentary on everything from friendship (especially among women -- for example, their friends would not take sides, or they're happy for their friends while being resentful about their own failed relationships) to our society's ridiculous pressure and emphasis on weddings and being a perfect bride. In fact, Kristen Johnston's character, despite being a pig, offers one of the film's most astute and true commentary.
That said, the second half falls apart as the two women try to reconcile their friendship. Something doesn't jell there. Their behaviors are so outlandish that it seems awkwardly inconsistent for them to feel sorry for the other. Emma's "transformation" is especially unconvincing, and the ending is forced and manipulative and predictable, and totally out of character for Emma. Of the two characters, Emma seems to be the most sympathetic one but at the same time, also the most unconvincing and inconsistent. Not to mention there are plot holes and frustrating illogic. For example, they mean to tell us that Emma and Liv don't have any friends of family members outside of their mutual circle? And if St. Claire messes up their dates, don't you think it's her legal and moral obligation to fix it for them? Things like that may seem trivial, but they bug me nonetheless because they're only there for the sake of the plot.
Director Gary Winick (
Eventually the affair comes to an abrupt end when Hanna moves away; Michael is heartbroken. He later goes on to become a law student, but he's still hung up on his first lover, who taught him everything he wanted to know about women and sex. When his criminal law professor takes them to a trial, Michael is shaken to see Hanna again, only this time she is one of the defendants accused of heinous war-crimes. Hanna's lack of remorse for her actions shocks and devastates Michael. Yet, he possesses a piece of important information that may save Hanna from a death sentence. Ashamed of his affair and haunted by Hanna's past, Michael decides to keep his mouth shut. In turn, Hanna is sentenced to life imprisonment.
Years and a failed marriage later, Michael (Ralph Fiennes) returns to Berlin and rekindles with his childhood. Tormented with guilt and shame, he reads the books to a tape recorder and sends the cassettes to Hanna in prison. She listens the tapes and realizes how much Michael still loves her, and that gives her a purpose in life. However, still ashamed and torn by his sense of justice, Michael refuses to write to Hanna. Eventually their paths cross again but their lives are so vastly different now.
Ralph Fiennes (
German actor David Kross (
Based on Bernhard Schlink's novel and written by David Hare (
The novel and screenplay also explore the themes of guilt and shame fully without being on the nose. The characters, by and large, and driven by their shames and guilts. Yet, it's a bit unclear why, for example, Hanna would rather go to prison than to own up to her shame. And Michael would eventually live most of his adult life wallowing in his own shame and guilt. Such powerful and useless emotions. Still, I think the film does a remarkable job dissecting shame and guilt.
Director David Daldry (