Down on her luck, Miss Pettigrew finds herself in the employ of a floozy American singer (Amy Adams) who's juggling three beaus - her true love (a penniless musician), her meal ticket (a nightclub owner) and her shot at the big time (the son of a theatrical producer). Noel Coward's spirit possesses Mary Poppins in this comedy set in 1939 London and starring Frances McDormand as a governess. But be forewarned: Repeated viewings could hurt their chances of getting into an elite college. En route, they pick up another daddy-daughter combo (Donny Osmond and Molly Ephraim) and engage in brainless antics aimed at Raven-Symone's pre-teen fan base. with her little brother and his pet pig as stowaways. When she lands an on-campus interview, he decides to drive her and they leave for D.C. Martin Lawrence plays her overprotective father, an Illinois police chief, who would rather she stayed closer to home. Raven-Symone of Disney Channel fame plays a high school senior dying to attend Georgetown. Every character - posh, low-life or somewhere in between - is compromised, but the viewer comes up smelling like a rose, as do members of the ensemble. A London model (Saffron Burrows) recruits her childhood pal (Jason Statham) and his gang of amateur thieves for a seemingly straightforward boost that turns out to involve a black nationalist, a Soho pornographer, MI5 (or is it MI6?), bent coppers and kinky MPs. Getting taken by this smart, suspenseful heist movie is a pleasure, and your willingness to go along is increased because it's based on a scandalous true story from 1971 involving a member of Britain's royal family. The ponderously arty execution of Zac Stanford's simplistic script invites snores rather than sympathy. Outside the dysfunctional family circle stands the well-meaning local cop (Matthew St. Father (Dennis Hopper) is ornery and abusive son (Nick Stahl) is a timid dolt whose awakening may be in the offing and daughter (Charlize Theron) is a by-the-book tramp - named Joleen, no less - whose horrible parenting skills have rendered her 12-year-old (AnnaSophia Robb) both sullen and precocious. All four members of the Reedy family we encounter suffer from maladies that often cluster in somber independent films. Staying awake during this woeful drama is a challenge. Anytime the picture dares to be original, the formula delivers a knockout punch. Director Jeff Wadlow's fight scenes are visceral, but the screenplay he co-wrote is terrified to step outside its coming-of-rage box. Tired of being fed his front teeth, he takes MMA lessons from a Zen instructor (Djimon Hounsou) and trains for an underground tournament titled The Beat Down. (R) FAIR (Reviewed by the AP)Ī remake of "The Karate Kid" using mixed martial arts (trendy right now) and the bare-knuckle therapy of "Fight Club." Restless Florida teenager Jake Tyler (Sean Faris) enters a new school and makes instant enemies with a popular bully (the charismatically wicked Cam Gigandet). Then he ruins the effect about an hour in. Haneke puts a feeling of unease in your stomach from the beginning, and through intimate staging and impossibly long takes, creates a steadily building tension. This is what we would refer to as "having it both ways," in any language. Yet the violence is still there - it's completely germane to the story - and even though you can't see it, it still achieves the same sort of effect. Haneke wants to condemn Hollywood pop culture for reveling in violence, and he intentionally places the most brutal acts of his sadistic hostage drama just outside the frame. Here's what's funny about writer-director Michael Haneke's film, a nearly identical English-language remake of his own 1997 thriller set in Austria. Meanwhile the dim bulb Mayor of Who-ville (Steve Carell) - a stand-in for poor, besieged Dubya - talks to God and knows what's best for everyone, the heck with democracy. Jim Carrey's titular elephant discovers a civilization of tiny people living on a speck of pollen, which prompts a kangaroo (Carol Burnett) - who might as well be named ACLU - to go on a rampage of indignation over such nonsense. Theodore Geisel's gentle plea for tolerance has been turned into far-right propaganda about how Christians are a persecuted minority and loudmouthed atheists are ruining everything.
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