Posts Tagged ‘Mark Wahlberg’

Short Take: Christian Bale's performance alone is worth the price of admission

Director: David O. Russell

Screenwriters: Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, and Keith Dorrington (story)

Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo

Length: 1h 56m

Synopsis: Amateur welterweight boxer Micky Ward (Wahlberg), who is managed by his mother (Leo) and trained by his ex-boxer older brother Dicky (Bale), is trying to work his way out of obscurity and towards the status of professional. In his 30s, “Irish” Micky isn’t getting any younger, so when he suffers his fourth consecutive defeat he begins to seriously question the routine he has found himself in. Love struck by a beautiful local bartender named Charlene (Adams), Micky decides it’s now or never to prove his worth as a fighter and as a man and chooses to seek a new manager and trainer. His mother and brother believe he is making a big mistake and that loyalty to his family is more important. The crisis Micky faces involves not just the desire to change, but determining if the costs of that are too great.

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Short Take: Funny and unique, yet the premise goes largely unexplored

Director: Adam McKay (Step Brothers, Anchorman)

Screenwriter: Adam McKay (Step Brothers), Chris Henchy (Land of the Lost (2009))

Cast: Will Ferrell (Step Brothers, Blades of Glory), Mark Wahlberg (The Lovely Bones), Steve Coogan (Hamlet 2), Michael Keaton (Toy Story 3)

Length: 1h 37m

Synopsis: Allen Gamble (Ferrell) and Terry Hoitz (Wahlberg) are New York City detectives who are stuck in the proverbial daily grind. Hoitz is always itching to escape the office and do some hardcore investigating, while Gamble is perfectly content with doing endless paperwork. Both partners, however, envy co-detectives Highsmith (Jackson) and Danson (Johnson), who continually create headlines and make the detective life look glamorous and movie-like. These two would-be celebrities end up meeting their maker sooner rather than later, though, which inspires Hoitz and Gamble to take more initiative and be more ambitious with their investigations. This newfound attitude steers them towards a possible grand-scale white collar crime not dissimilar to the Bernie Madoff fiasco, but because of a series of mishaps their Captain (Keaton) and even the District Attorney step in and order them to back off. Despite this order Hoitz and Gamble are unable to let go of the case, and wont stop until they’ve got their man. Read the rest of this entry »

Short Take: Palatable and amusing, but doesn't offer much originality

Director: Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, The Pink Panther, Cheaper by the Dozen)

Screenwriter: Josh Klausner (Shrek the Third, The 4^th Floor)

Cast: Steve Carell (The Office, Get Smart, Dan in Real Life), Tina Fey (30 Rock, Baby Mama, Mean Girls), Mark Wahlberg (The Lovely Bones, The Departed)

Length: 1 hour 28 minutes

Synopsis: When New Jersey couple Phil (Carell) and Claire (Fey) Foster worry their marriage has lost its spark, they alter their usual weekly date night plans and head to a popular new Manhattan restaurant.  However, when they arrive, the restaurant is too crowded so they steal another couple’s reservation.  Unfortunately, the couple from whom they stole the reservation, the Tripplehorns, is in trouble with a powerful and dangerous gangster and when the gangster’s henchmen mistake the Fosters for the Tripplehorns, Phil and Claire must spend the rest of their night trying to set things right.

Note: This review contains details that some might consider spoiling Read the rest of this entry »