Corporate line:
Directed by Gregory Hoblit (”Fracture”), “Untraceable” follows F.B.I. cybercrimes specialist Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) as she attempts to track down a serial killer who brazenly displays his murderous deeds on the Internet. Aided by fellow agent Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks) and local detective Eric Box (Billy Burke), Marsh tenaciously hunts for the elusive criminal in rainy Pacific Northwest settings, but as she closes in on her target, he deviously finds ways to get closer to her, all the while killing his victims in increasingly faster fashion. Clearly referencing a number of renowned thrillers–most notably the “Saw” films, “Seven”, and “Silence of the Lambs”–”Untraceable” is far from an original cinematic exercise. However, Lane’s steely, smart, and beautiful heroine ably anchors the film, which also benefits from its appropriately gloomy Portland, Oregon, backdrop. As with any effective suspense movie, the thrill is in the chase, with the cold-blooded killer proving to be quite adept at disguising his real location, even as his disturbingly popular site remains prominently on the web (hence the picture’s title).

The review:
There are a tons of movies that could be written around a cyber-killer–none have been good so far and “Untraceable” doesn’t change that. It’s almost laughable to have a guy kill and do it more viciously depending upon the number of people come to his site. Diane Lane should have known what she was getting herself into. “Untraceable” is little more than a movie made in hope of making money on YouTube fans. Director Hoblit tries hard to keep upping the ante of how to kill and torture people, but like most of the “Saw” movies it grows weaker instead of stronger.

“Untraceable” is unwatchable.

Corporate line:
Denzel Washington directs and stars in this uplifting drama based on a true story about a small East Texas all-black college in 1935 that rises to the top of the nation’s debate teams in a duel against Harvard. A poet and debating coach at Wiley College, Professor Melvin Tolson (Washington) sees debating as “a blood sport” and recruits the meanest and brightest, including troubled Henry (Nate Parker), driven Samantha (Jurnee Smollet), and the 14-year-old prodigy James Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker). Oscar winner Forest Whitaker (no relation) plays Farmer’s father, the initially unsupportive president of the school. There’s tough training, romantic heat over the attentions of fiery Samantha (the first girl on the team), and some no holds-barred racism (including a witnessed lynching) before the big match-up against the Ivy League school, adding to the overall emotional force. Though feel-good historical competition movies like this have been done before, Washington serves up his effort as a lean, mean family dinner, with minimum fuss and maximum nutritional-educational value. Historical accuracy may be thrown to the wind more than once–Farmer is the only real student among the team, and the final debate was against USC, not Harvard–but the acting is uniformly superb. It’s great to watch these kids slowly incorporate Tolson’s incredible poise and intellectual rigor into their lives, and the message is as important as ever. Oprah Winfrey served as producer.

The review:
As both a director and actor, Denzel Washington shines. This certainly isn’t an epic and yet it’s still very inspiring. The movie’s true power is in its cast. Forest Whitaker isn’t on screen very long but he makes a definite impression. The young cast featuring Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett and Denzel Whitaker are surprisingly good. Don’t be surprised to see more work from them. “The Great Debaters” is formulaic but that doesn’t hurt the movie to badly. It takes some skill to make sure it doesn’t get too sappy or slow. Washington does a good job directing and walking that fine line necessary to keep “The Great Debaters” interesting throughout.

Corporate line:
Academy Award® winner Diane Keaton (”Something’s Gotta Give”), Oscar® nominee Queen Latifah (”Chicago”) and Katie Holmes (”Thank You for Smoking”) star in “Mad Money,” a comedy about three ordinary women who form an unlikely friendship and decide to do something extraordinary—rob one of the most secure banks in the world. Mad Money is directed by Academy Award® winner Callie Khouri (screenwriter of “Thelma and Louise,” director of “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood”), from a script by Glen Gers (”Fracture”).

Bridget Cardigan (Diane Keaton) is shocked to learn that she is on the verge of losing her home and comfortable upper middle class lifestyle when her husband Don (Ted Danson) is downsized from his job. Armed only with a decades old English degree and years as a dedicated mother and corporate wife, Bridget is forced into the unfamiliar labor market with no job skills. Finally, she accepts the only position she can find— janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank.

The one-time suburban mom soon discovers she has more in common with her new co-workers than she thought. Bridget forges an unexpected bond with Nina (Queen Latifah), a hard-working single mom with two kids to raise, and Jackie (Katie Holmes), an exuberant free spirit with nothing to lose. Caught up in a system that underestimates their talents and keeps their dreams just out of reach, Bridget, Nina and Jackie set out to even the score.

After a lifetime of playing by the rules, the three devise a plan to smuggle soon-to-be destroyed currency out of the supposedly airtight Reserve. As the unlikely crime syndicate amasses piles of cash, it looks like they have pulled off the perfect crime—until a minor misstep alerts the authorities. With more money than they know what to do with, the women are pushed to the limits of their ingenuity to stay one step ahead of the law!

The review:
It seems important to mention that the original release date of this movie was January. Why is that significant? Because its going to backup this review. You see, January is the trashcan month for movie releases. The crap gets thrown out and movie studios pray someone comes along and picks up the scraps.

So far “Mad Money” is one of the worst movies released this year. To be fair however, I haven’t seen every movie that has come out. It’s a shame this is such a bad movie because Diane Keaton is a great actress. So why is she in this movie? Katie Holmes and Queen Latifah both have taken their chances with crap and don’t seem to mind more, but Keaton?

“Mad Money” isn’t cute, funny or interesting. Even worse its 100% implausible. It’s such a total mess that there’s not much left to write about.

Watch the trailer:

Corporate line:
“The Golden Compass” is an adaptation of the first book in the beloved but controversial fantasy series by Phillip Pullman. The story opens with Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) an orphan girl who lives in an alternate world that is similar to earth, but where people’s souls exist outside of their bodies in animal form. The people are ruled by a shadowy and oppressive council known as the Magisterium, which is doing it’s best to keep everyone from getting information about what is called “Dust.” Lyra’s Uncle Asriel (Daniel Craig) has been researching Dust, and he has seen to it that Lyra is given safe shelter at Jordan College. But when the visiting Mrs. Coulter (Nicole Kidman) arrives, she asks Lyra to accompany her on a trip to the North to meet the Panserbjorne, a race of armored bears. Before Lyra leaves, the Headmaster gives her a golden compass, a device which only she can read, and from which she can intuit the truth. Lyra leaves with Mrs. Coulter, but when she learns that her friends have been kidnapped by “Gobblers,” she heads out to find them, and soon joins forces with the nomadic Gyptians, some witches, and an armored bear called Iorek Byrnison (voice by Ian McKellen). Lyra finds her friends, and so discovers the evil plans the Magisterium has cooked up for the world’s children. By the film’s end, she has vowed to track down her Uncle Asriel, and to discover the true power of Dust. Hollywood had a tricky time of taming this tale, as Pullman’s books portray religion – the Catholic Church in particular – in a less than flattering light. The film version carefully steers clear of these themes, and instead puts its enormous budget into creating visually stunning effects. While fans of the books may find fault with this streamlined version, children are sure to revel in the many talking animals and whimsical airships.

The review:
I find it amazing that “The Golden Compass” only recieved a 41% rating on RottenTomatoes.com. Not only did my kids love it–but I found it to be the best movie I’ve seen for kids in quite some time. The closest thing to compare this movie to would be “The Chronicles of Narnia.” It’s not as good as Narnia–but its not that far from being as interesting and fun. There are numerous interesting characters and theCGI is brilliant, in particular the armored bear named Iorek.

Lyra, played well by Dakota Blue Richards, takes one heck of a magical trip. One of the more interesting aspects are how each child has their own daemon, a creature that holds their human companions soul. Daniel Craig, though often absent, provides a very strong character role as Lord Asriel. The most surprising is how brilliantly Nicole Kidman plays the role of the evil Mrs. Coulter. There are also some very good character actors to fill in the holes–like Sam Elliott and Ian McKellen, who lends his voice to the armored bear. McKellen gives this CGI bear lots of soul. So much so that Iorek steals ever scene.

The extras:

* Commentary with Writer/Director Chris Weitz – An interesting discussion about the differences made in the movie compared to the film.
* Origins: The Novel, The Adaptation, and Oxford
* Behind the Scenes: Finding Lyra, Costumes, Music, Production Design, The Launch – A great look into the development of the movies visual effects.
* Lyra’s World: Armored Bears, The Alethiometer and Daemons
* Image galleries

Finally:
“The Golden Compass” may not impress the critics and might not be every parent’s cup-of-tea but kids love it. There hasn’t been a week that has gone by where my kids wouldn’t inquire when “The Golden Compass” would be out on DVD. It was good to finally surprise them with it and in just 4 days they watched it half-a-dozen times.