The animals look endearing in Open Season, a first foray into CGI animation from the folks at Sony. Too bad that when they open their mouths, the less-endearing voices of Ashton Kutcher and Martin Lawrence emerge. Replacements fans take note: Paul Westerberg provides the not-as-bad-as-they-could-be songs…
With the enjoyably trashy '80s throwback The Marine (Fox), superstar wrestler-turned-rapper-turned-actor John Cena gets his first and hopefully only starring vehicle, but Robert Patrick steals the show as a cheerfully deranged bad guy who kidnaps Cena's smoking-hot wife. Unfortunately, Cena's wooden lead performance won't make anyone forget the big-screen exploits of Hulk Hogan, let alone The Rock…
When actors play despicable characters, they have to commit themselves to living inside someone else's head without letting their own consciences get in the way. But like his sniveling Bill Gates impersonation in Antitrust, Tim Robbins' dreadful performance as a South African "anti-terrorist" official in Catch A Fire (Focus) fails because he can't hide his distaste for his own character. Still, it's hard to determine whether this earnest anti-apartheid drama would have succeeded under the best of circumstances…
On stage, veteran stand-up Louis C.K. spins hilarious, shockingly honest stories about his wife, his family, and his often-negative feelings toward them, but without falling back on shock value. The same can't be said about Lucky Louie (HBO), C.K.'s bare-bones throwback to the traditional, multi-camera, laugh-track-laden family sitcom. Louie does contain funny, well-crafted, honest scenes. But sometimes the effort at a realistic portrayal of marriage and family life translates into Roseanne with male frontal nudity, many awkward sex scenes, and a liberal sprinkling of "fuck"s…
Tony Bill's blandly old-fashioned, fact-based World War I aviation drama inexplicably gets the deluxe treatment in the Flyboys (MGM) two-disc collectors'-edition DVD, which tacks on a plethora of audio commentaries, documentaries, and featurettes about the Lafayette Escadrille, America's first fighter pilots. It's like a dull afternoon spent switching lazily between Showtime and the History Channel combined in one screamingly inessential DVD set.