| Friday, December 14, 2007 |
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 The hotly-anticipated I Am Legend stars box office champ Will Smith as a man who finds he's the last of the human race. It's an intriguing premise, but critics say the film is something of a mixed bag. Smith plays scientist Robert Neville, the only survivor of a worldwide plague. As he roams the abandoned streets of New York City, he slowly comes to the realization that he's not alone: a band of bloodthirsty quasi-humans have been watching him. Critics say Legend features outstanding work from Will Smith in a often wordless performance; they also note the film's excellent production design and interesting philosophical questions about the nature of humanity. But there's also the feeling from many pundits that while the movie starts out contemplative and intriguing, it heads into schlocky B-movie territory as it goes along, jettisoning the elements that made the setup so intriguing.
It appears the big-screen version of Alvin and the Chipmunks gives lie to the theme song of the group's Saturday morning incarnation, which said Alvin, Simon, and Theodore were "coming on stronger than ever before." In fact, critics say this may be the weakest vehicle for the helium-voiced rodents yet. Jason Lee stars as David Seville, the impresario behind the famed band of singing, anthropomorphic woodland creatures, who run afoul of the record industry. The pundits say despite a few laughs, this is pretty bland stuff: dated, weakly constructed, and lacking in three-dimensional characters of the human or CGI variety.
Another week, another ribald-but-sentimental holiday comedy. The latest entry in the subgenre is The Perfect Holiday, a film critics say is inaccurately titled. Holiday tells the story of a single parent (Gabrielle Union) who takes her kids to see Santa (Morris Chestnut) at the local mall, and starts thinking she might like to be Mrs. Claus. The critics say the film squanders an excellent cast that also includes the likes of Terrance Howard, Queen Latifah, and Charlie Murphy (oops, I mean "Chaaahhlllie Murphaaaay") on a shopworn script that delivers few laughs and less cheer. Find out what else is playing this week. |
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