From the heart of Hollywood, FilmJerk.com presents the most irreverent and irrelevant entertainment news and reviews. http://www.filmjerk.com All content found herein copyright 2000 - 2006 FilmJerk.com. The site allows reprinting of sections of the text for story purposes, provided a link to the full text is included. It's been three lengthy years since "Batman Begins" clobbered the big screen, and the wait for the next chapter in this saga has been interminable. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1514 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:06:37 EDT It was only a year ago when I suffered utter disdain for "Hairspray," a shrill, overdirected musical comedy that I found merciless in its unpleasantness. Turns out all it was missing was the music of ABBA. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1513 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:04:32 EDT "Space Chimps" is many things, but the one advantage it lacks is a sizable budget. If you're a respectable production that wants to be taken seriously and can't even scrounge up the coin to license Yello's 1985 hit "Oh Yeah," instead electing to use a tinny sound-a-like... that should be the first clue that something is seriously awry with the movie. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1512 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:03:28 EDT A searing lament for China and the eradication of its historic farming culture, "Up the Yangtze" is a stunning documentary that details every gut-churning step of inevitability. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1511 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:00:00 EDT "Diminished Capacity" is actor Terry Kinney's feature-film directing debut, and it handles like the work of someone who's just getting the feel for his storytelling dimension. A gentle, agreeable dramedy, "Capacity" reveals that Kinney has a unique hold on tone and shares a palpable charm with his actors. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1510 Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:59:07 EDT Celebrities reveal their influences in this original series hosted by film critic Elvis Mitchell. The premiere episode aired July 7 and featured the late Sydney Pollack in his last in-depth interview. However, it seemed abrupt and truncated. When you’re talking about the influences that have shaped an artist's life, a half hour is too short to cover the subject sufficiently. It definitely left me wanting more. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1509 Sat, 12 Jul 2008 20:05:10 EDT Once the king of comedy, it's been a disheartening journey for Eddie Murphy recently; he's failed to remind audiences what once made him such a hot comedy commodity, only to see his mojo dissipate through a series of bad script choices and forgettable kid film diversions. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1508 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:13:42 EDT 2004's "Hellboy" was a sprawling, mysterious, comical, slimy, and idiosyncratic monster movie. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" has all of those qualities and one more: restraint. Well, at least a newfound sense of limitation; this sequel overdoses in a big way on fantasy tangents, yet, unlike the earlier picture, it clicks together with a greater, more direct geek panache. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1507 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:12:01 EDT "Journey to the Center of the Earth" isn't a straight-jacket adaptation of the Jules Verne classic, but a vague photocopy that eschews daring adventure for cheap, plastic thrills, tarted up with a sickly glaze of 3-D to help prop up the anemic screenplay. It's a gimmick-driven movie and it's shocking how much the final product lacks the source material's intrinsic magic. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1506 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:08:30 EDT To better appreciate "Encounters at the End of the World," it's best to view it not as a scientific documentary, but as a home movie from screendom's crankiest old bastard. That’s right, Werner Herzog is back with his latest non-fiction endeavor, proving again that it's not actually naturalistic poetry until it's been touched by his camera. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1505 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:05:53 EDT "Never Forever" had all the opportunity in the world to fall in line with its romance-novel inclinations, to feed off melodrama and end up a tragic tear-jerker that flails wildly and distills the pain of life into bite-sized bits of mascara-smeared displeasure. Thank heavens writer/director Gina Kim isn't interested in reducing her feature to a puddle of pandering. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1504 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:45:18 EDT I'm not used to writing a statement like this, so please forgive me if I pass out from the shock of disbelief: Peter Berg's direction saves "Hancock." There, it's out on the page for the world to see. Clearly the cinema gods are pleased with me, because I just watched a Peter Berg film and I didn't want to punch the screen afterwards. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1503 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:10:58 EDT "Brick Lane" is a melodrama, but it's crafted with such fascinating compassion and care for moments of heart-twisting domestic compromise that it's easy to forgive a few narrative bumps and a handful of familiarity. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1502 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:07:38 EDT It certainly took the gang at Cinematic Titanic enough time to regroup, but the six-month wait between episodes was worth the unbearable impatience. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1501 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:45:13 EDT Someone, somewhere, had the nutty idea to connect the music from the 1940s to the music of the late 1970s, and explore that combustible relationship to fashion the ultimate disco movie of 1980. http://www.filmjerk.com/reviews/article.php?id_rev=1500 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 23:24:29 EDT