Heading to the movies this weekend? You'll want to know what the top women film critics in the country had to say about the latest releases.
First Daughter
Katie Holmes, Michael Keaton
Directed by Forest Whitaker
Rated PG
It's hard to find a critic who liked the latest formula flick about a presidential offspring declaring her independence. Even the Philadelphia Inquirer's Carrie Rickey, who calls the movie "likeable" -- albeit in the same breath as "predictable" -- worries most about it being part of a trend of "incessant princessitude." The Los Angeles Times' Carina Chocano would only go so far as saying the film is better than last year's Chasing Liberty, a "dubious honor," she notes wryly. The San Francisco Chronicle's Carla Meyer could only offer one positive: that Katie Holmes looks like she could be the daughter of Margaret Colin, who plays the first lady. But the New York Times' Manohla Dargis wasn't even that generous. She was especially put off by Holmes, calling her "a vague, blurry presence."
The Forgotten
Julianne Moore, Anthony Edwards, Gary Sinise
Directed by Joseph Ruben
Rated PG-13
Usually a smart bunch, critics had a hard time figuring out this thriller about a distraught mother searching for her son, who may or may not exist. The New York Post's Megan Lehmann goes over the plot in disbelief, while the Washington Post's Ann Hornaday was happy to go along for the ride until the twisty end made her stomach churn. Salon's Stephanie Zacharek, Manohla Dargis, Carina Chocano, Carrie Rickey and Carla Meyer are all firmly on the bandwagon that the plot is an incomprehensible mess, however much they may admire Julianne Moore as an actress. On the other hand, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Eleanor Ringel-Gillespie tilted toward the positive side, calling the film "semi-good."
Shaun of the Dead
Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
Directed by Edgar Wright
Rated R
The unqualified "good" movie of the weekend is a spoof zombie comedy from Great Britain, which the New York Daily News's Jami Bernard found to be "dead-on," pun intended. And strangely enough for a blood-and-guts kind of film, Carina Chocano thought it was "cute," which she intends as a compliment. Carla Meyer was particularly impressed with the director's visual storytelling. USA Today's Claudia Puig enjoyed the satire until she thought it got heavy-handed at the end. Ann Hornaday's major complaint was that the zombies didn't look zombie-ish enough. And Eleanor Ringel-Gillespie found the silliness appealing even when it went over the top.
A Dirty Shame
Selma Blair, Johnny Knoxville
Directed by John Waters
Rated NC-17
Carrie Rickey was one of the few women film critics to chime in on John Waters's latest cinematic recreation of bawdy Baltimore. She is amused by the film, but has big warnings for anyone who's unfamiliar with the director's more out-there work -- and she's not talking about the Broadway version of Hairspray, but rather the movie Pink Flamingos.
The Yes Men
Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno
Directed by Chris Smith, Dan Ollman and Sarah Price
Rated R
With political documentaries heating up this election season, Manohla Dargis is quick to point out that this particular behind-the-scenes look at a group of pranksters who take on the World Trade Organization won't put anyone to sleep or, really, stir their passions. Megan Lehmann, less enthused, calls it "an amusing side dish." However, L.A. Weekly critic Ella Taylor finds the results to be "uproarious," as the two guys who make up the Yes Men travel the world giving fake lectures as WTO representatives.
The Motorcycle Diaries
Gael Garcia Bernal, Rodrigo de la Serna
Directed by Walter Salles
Rated R
It's Oscar season already in the parts of the country where theaters are playing this biopic of a young Che Guevara taking a trip across South America with his best friend. Claudia Puig finds the journey "dazzling" and the acting impressive, but says the film's real strength is that it gives a sense of how the rebel leader came to some of his political views. The Village Voice's Jessica Winter is not as impressed, saying it's "lovely to look at but insipid, a lavishly illustrated Rough Guide to white liberal self-affirmation."
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