August movie reviews

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. Homer pollutes the town's lake, and havoc ensues. Springfield is quarantined, but the Simpsons manage to escape to Alaska. Eventually, they determine they must "return to America" to save the town. Basically, the movie is just an extended version of the TV show, but it's laugh out loud, especially the first 30 minutes or so. The main plot involving an evil EPA "the least effective agency in the government", led by an big business Adminstrator who can make President Schwarzengger ("I was paid to lead, not read") do whatever he wants - that's a bonus. The movie throws away gags at such a rapid rate if you don't pay attention you'll miss some laughs. Definitely worth seeing.

SUPERBAD. I hate to think that this movie really reflects the way teenage boys think and talk, but I can't say I'd really be surprised. In this case, it's two HS seniors, pretty dorky, who really really want to get laid before they go off to college. With the help of their even dorkier friend, who has a fake ID (in the name of McLovin), they have the chance to buy liquor for a party and impress the girls they are interested in. Of course there are complications. This is a pretty standard teenage movie, plotwise, and I found the first 20 minutes or so pretty crude, but that didn't last forever. And it really has quite a few belly laughs as the movie progresses, so I have to say it's worth seeing.

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is still searching for his identity and why he is such a killing machine. This time his first clue appears via a journalist in London. From there he heads to Spain, and finally ends up in New York, where he duels with an evil "secret" branch of the CIA. They are willing to kill Bourne and anybody he contacts in order to keep their secret. With a great cast (David Straithern, Albert Finney, Joan Allen), this movie is essentially three chase scenes in the three locales. But they are really well done chase scenes (although sometimes the camera work was too jerky for my liking), so I thought this was a terrific action movie. Excellent summer fare.

KING OF KONG. A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS. Documentary on the people who still play the 1980's arcade game Donkey Kong. They take it seriously (it's apparently a really challenging game) and even have a official organization that validates scores. The movie follows Steve Wiebe, a likeable guy who out of nowhere decides he is going for a record-breaking score. His nemesis is the devious Billy Mitchell, who made a name for himself when he was 17 years old, back in 1982. Billy currently has the high score, but it seems like no one has actually watched him play in years. (He submits his scores via videotape.) I watched the movie with a smile on my face, not because I was laughing at the people, but because it was so entertaining. And, of course, it's always fun to root for a good guy over a bad guy. Totally enjoyable movie.

STARDUST. There is a town in 19th century England, called Wall. Not surprisingly, there is a wall outside of town, and the townspeople don't cross it much. Turns out, on the other side is a land called Stormhold. In Wall, a young man is trying to woo a young lady who isn't particularly impressed by him. Together they see a falling star, and he tells the young lady he will go get the star and bring it back to her if she will marry him. So he crosses the wall to get the star, who turns out to be Claire Danes. Claire is also being pursued by a group of princes each competing for the jewel around her neck so that one of them can become king, and by ugly old witches (including Michelle Pfeiffer) who want to eat her heart to ensure eternal youth. That's the bare bones of it; there's much much more (Robert de Niro as a gay pirate, Ricky Gervais, Peter O'Toole). It's a very visual movie, with several amusements, but I didn't love it like I thought I would. I think it would probably be wonderful for people who love fantasy and older children.

DEATH AT A FUNERAL. OK, so a son is trying to arrange for a dignified send off for his father. But the funeral doesn't get off to a good start when the undertakers deliver the wrong body. Things go from bad to worse. There is a mysterious man at the funeral, a future in-law unknowingly takes a psychadelic, a preacher who needs to be elsewhere, etc. This is a British comedy, and I was hoping for a lot of laughs, but mostly I just thought it mildly amusing. I only laughed out loud a couple of times. I am not sure I would even rent this one, but some members of the audience I saw it with laughed quite a bit.