Weekly Blogroll: The week in review

SUPERBAD: JUST HOW BAD IS IT?

• Tim Berroth over at “Hollywood Jesus” says that “the kids are alright,” and favorably reviews Producer Judd Apatow’s (“Knocked Up”, “40 Year Old Virgin”) newest. It is written by Seth Rogan and Ethan Goldberg, and is directed by Greg Mottola.

• However, over at “Past the Popcorn” Michael Brunk claims that the film is, in fact, “bad, super bad.”

• Also, Paste gives it four stars and insists that “it’s the best teen comedy to come out in at least a decade.”

• Roger Ebert likes “Superbad” enough to grant it 3 1/2 stars out of 4.

THE INVASION:

• “The Invasion”, a remake (in fact the third remake) of “The Invasion of the Body Snatcher’s” (orginally released in 1956 and based on a book by Jack Finney), is not garnering particularly rave reviews as evidence by a rotten 20% from “Rotten Tomatoes.”

• This is disapointing considering the names behind the project: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jeffrey Wright, and director Oliver Hirschbiegel.

• Christianity Today’s Pater Chattaway gives it 2 out of 4 stars and calls it “the least engaging…” and likely “the least enduring…” of the book’s adaptations.

• Paste also gives the film 2 stars.

• Jeff Walls with “Past the Popcorn” calls it “a disappointment.”

• Roger Ebert isn’t too fond of the film either.

• On a positive note: San Francisco Chronicle critic Mike LaSalle insists that the film “connects on a gut level…” and Kenneth Turan from the L.A. Times says that it is “stylish and smart.”

DEATH AT A FUNERAL: To die for?

• Starring Matthew Macfayden, Alan Tudyk, Peter Dinklage, and others, and directed by Frank Oz, it is the comedic story of a dysfunctional family and a doomed funeral. “Death at a Funeral” is receiving some decent praise.

• Brett McCracken says in his review over at Christianity Today that it is “…smart,subtle, and heart-felt…” but also claims that it is “… a rather slight film…raising big issues and questions but leaving them largely unexplored.” He gave it 3 stars.

• Roger Ebert gave it 3 stars as well, saying that it is “…part farce… part slapstick…and part just plain wacky eccentricity.”

• Jeff Walls with “Past the Popcorn” says that it misses at times but still “just makes you laugh…” and suggests that it has the potential to be the “next big British comedy.”

One film that is not getting high praise is RUSH HOUR 3:

• The aforementioned Ebert gives Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker’s newest buddy-cop flick 2 stars; he makes it clear he doesn’t hate it, but there certainly isn’t much to love either.

• Chris Cabin of filmcritic.com gives it 1 1/2 stars and James Christopher of The Times Online (UK) gives it 2 out of 5 stars.

• On the other hand, a Time Magazine critic likes the film.

Finally, I include an insightful review of STARDUST by Jeffrey Overstreet.