Robin Hood (2010)

ROBIN HOOD (2010).
Directed by Ridley Scott. Written by Brian Helgeland. Starring Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, William Hurt, Max Von Sydow, Oscar Isaac, Mark Strong, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, Léa Seydoux, Kevin Durand, Matthew Macfayden, and Mark Addy.

Plot: Before Robin Hood was an outlaw, he was... an outlaw. But before that, he was a star archer on the King's Crusade.

And that's pretty much the essence of it. Ridley Scott claimed he was doing a prequel to the oft-told story of Robin Hood (here played by Russell Crowe), with a twist; his twist seems to have been that both King Richard The Lionheart and his heir Prince John had, in a short time span, and without one another's knowledge, made him an outlaw, Richard even pretty much given him the death penalty.

And the movie is less a re-telling than a Gladiator-version of an explanation on how Robin took Marion Loxley's heart (a terrific Cate Blanchett), rounded up his misfit gang of Merry Men, and played on the nerves of both the Sheriff of Nottingham (Matthew Macfayden) and Prince John (a marvelous if cliché'd performance by Oscar Isaac).

Expect thousands of extras fighting in epic battle scenes shot on location with surreal environments and buildings made just for this movie. But don't expect anyone to upstage either Crowe or Blanchett - whether it's their sheer raw talent or an editor's work, there is no scene-stealer among the supporting cast, despite Mark Addy giving it a decent go as Friar Tuck. Even William Hurt and Max Von Sydow are just filler for a back-story that didn't really need to be told.

3.5/5

Cop Out (2010)

COP OUT (2010).
Directed by Kevin Smith. Written by Robb Cullen, and Mark Cullen. Starring Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan, Guillermo Diaz, Kevin Pollack, Adam Brody, Michelle Trachtenberg, Jason Lee, Rashida Jones, Seann William Scott, Ana De La Reguera, and Juan Carlos Hernandez.

Ooh, a tribute to 80s buddy-cop movies! Ooh, Bruce Willis! Guillermo Diaz as the bad guy! Directed by Kevin Smith!

Oh, but Smith didn't write it. Hmmm. And Tracy Morgan? He reminds me of Bernie Mac - he's not as funny as he thinks he is, nor as someone somewhere thinks, and he seems like he's always reading his lines, they don't come out instinctively. And Kevin Pollack - this guy still makes movies? We're a long way past The Usual Suspects now... if it wasn't for Willis and his hitman comedies, I think everything he makes now would be direct-to-DVD. Still, let's give it a try...

Plot: a down-on-his-luck cop with an idiot for a partner needs to sell his prized baseball card to not suffer the embarrassment of having his ex-wife's new husband pay for his daughter's wedding. But the card gets stolen. And by attempting to recover it, the cop kind of starts a war with drug (and human) traffickers.

Oh, boy.

It starts off fine, with Tracy Morgan quoting what seems like 100 different Hollywood movies in 90 seconds, almost overshadowing Bruce Willis, but it doesn't stick. Furthermore, as the film moves along, this supposedly film buff stops quoting films altogether, even when it'd be obvious to, as when he and Willis are in a car (sitting in front) with Seann William Scott in the back seat, and Morgan's wielding a gun and waving it everywhere, reminiscent of the ''dead nigger'' scene in Pulp Fiction. But no.

And it seems like every ten minutes, the movie becomes less and less realistic, as if it started as a tribute to the Lethal Weapon series but delved more and more into the parody realm. Guillermo Diaz is convincing as the menacing villain, although his role is pretty much identical to the one he plays in Weeds.

This isn't a bad film by any stretch of the imagination - it just isn't very good, either. So Smith's talent is wasted, as is Diaz'. And Willis', but that isn't a first. And to think Robin Williams and James Gandolfini were originally slated to star in this... now that would have been a piece of crap! For pop culture junkies, the first 15 minutes of the film are a delight, for ''Willis will save us one at a time'' fans, this could also prove satisfying. For a stupid good time, if all your other choices are not available to rent, this might be a decent choice. This will probably get some undeserved Razzie nominations, but big stars like Willis are used to this by now.

3/5

Iron Man 2 (2010)

IRON MAN 2 (2010).
Directed by Jon Favreau. Written by Justin Theroux. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Jon Favreau, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Paul Bettany, and Garry Shandling.

Plot: Billionnaire Tony Stark, who outed himself as superhero Iron Man at the end of the first movie, has to fight off new enemies, his own government and test his friends' patience in this sequel that serves more as a bridge to the upcoming Avengers movie than its own vehicle.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, by any means, it's just that once the film is over and done with, you leave with the impression of having watched a Friends reunion show more than an action movie, firstly because there is little action to speak of, but mostly because everybody just seems genuinely happy to be working together again - and the one-liners come out at a frantic pace, most of them predictable but still heartwarming.

What saves it from sitcom territory is the quality of the acting though: Robert Downey Jr was made for this role (more so even than Chaplin), Gwyneth Paltrow was born to play an assistant, Mickey Rourke seems at his place playing a lovable villain, Sam Rockwell and Garry Shandling are perfect as self-serving assholes, and Don Cheadle is also perfectly cast as a replacement for fellow Oscar nominee Terrence Howard as Jim Rhodes. Oh, and Scarlett Johansson looks great in a cat suit, but we'll get a better opinion of that in her spin-off, for Black Widow. And Jon Favreau and Samuel L. Jackson are their usual amazing selves in small (almost cameo) roles.

And that's probably because the film was made by actors. Favreau directed, sure, but the film was also written by Justin Theroux, whom you may remember as the non-lesbian character from David Lynch's terrific 2001 picture Mulholland Dr. It seems Theroux wrote the ultimate actor's screenplay, one where every actor looks good and says cool lines, but misses in the one area where a writer would be needed - plot and story.

It's not as entertaining as the first one, but it's still worth seeing on ''half-price Tuesdays'' if those exist in your area - or rent it.

3/5