Grown Ups & Knight & Day

July 1, 2010

Yes, I am alone this week, and what a week it has been. But as always, thanks for your support and your readership - it is MUCH appreciated.

Grown Ups

Let me start by saying the “The Piña Colada Song” will never be the same for me again. Yes, it’s true - we have all seen these comedians, Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider, David Spade & Adam Sandler. do their thing separately, and on occasion paired up, but never so many of them together on the big screen. It was like a screwed up Saturday Night Live reunion. In fact, there are even more comedians that are not billed that show up out of nowhere. But it’s good to see some old faces. And, it’s even believable that, Rock, Schneider, Spade and Sandler are friends because of SNL, and James only adds to the madness. Although they are hilarious (and at times, very disturbing) there are a couple of things I wished had happened. Most of all, I wished for more dysfunction. The situations were all pretty screwed up - but I would have actually loved more of it. Also, I have a problem with relationships fixing themselves too easily. I know there are only two hours to tell a story - but reality is never that easy. When all is said and done, it’s a fun movie (and again, sometimes disturbing) and well worth a trip to the movies. - CLAM

Photo: Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider, David Spade& Adam Sandler in Grown Ups

Knight & Day

``Knight and Day’’ Introducing an exciting new talent: Tom Cruise. Sure, we know Tom Cruise after his three decades in the business. We know way too much about Tom Cruise, actually, thanks to his well-documented off-screen antics the past few years. ``Knight and Day’’ is a refreshing reminder, though, of why he is a superstar: He has that undeniable charisma about him and he really can act, something for which he doesn’t always get the credit he deserves.

Here, he plays a Vintage Tom Cruise Role: He gets to be charming but also toy with the idea that he might be a little nuts. As secret agent Roy Miller, he has that twinkle in his eye and that sexy little smile but he’s also strangely calm in the middle of elaborate car chases and shootouts _ relaxed, articulate and abidingly courteous when most mortals would be freaking out. That’s part of the fun of the character and the movie as a whole, that contradiction. Cruise’s presence also helps keep James Mangold’s film light, breezy and watchable when the action, and the story itself, spin ridiculously out of control.

Photo: Tom Cruise & Cameron Diaz in Knight & Day

Cruise and Cameron Diaz make an oddly appealing pair as a (possibly) rogue spy and the innocent woman he must now protect.

But the romance between them feels forced and is one of the movie’s chief weaknesses.

PG-13 for sequences of action violence throughout, and brief strong language.

109 min. Two and a half stars out of four. - Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic

If you have questions or comments - please feel free to e-mail us at clamsaw@yahoo.com