“The Breakup”
Universal Pictures
“The Break-Up,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn, a romantic comedy that’s Vaughn’s first foray into screenwriting should be by the numbers but skips a few steps along the way.
Brooke (Aniston) and Gary (Vaughn) are a formerly happy young couple that live in a fabulous apartment they bought with fairly ordinary jobs. Their relationship starts out like all great romances, with a montage of staged photos of the couple loving life. Time passes and in the middle of an argument, Brooke tells Gary she can’t take it anymore (he would rather play video games then help with the dishes) and so they must break up. The story never really develops what’s emotionally at stake for them if they part, so it becomes all about the condo.
While the two are likeable, the thin script doesn’t capitalize on their skills. When all seems lost, the not-so-predictable ending helps recover the film.—Dina Losito
“Mission: Impossible III”
Paramount
Thanks to the many antics of Tom Cruise, one thing that got lost in all the hoopla was his latest film, “Mission: Impossible III.” Now that much of the madness has died down, the movie is on DVD and is a great popcorn flick.
With “Lost” and “Alias” creator J.J. Abrams at the helm of the picture this time around, the film is essentially a $150 million episode of “Alias.” The plot is thin and simple, but Abrams balances the action adventure elements between the emotionally grounded character developments and relationships. He also makes a point to bring back the teamwork element that was lacking in the last film by allowing the ensemble to play a bigger role in the action.
Cruise is still front and center and in full action hero mode, shooting bad guys, leaping off of skyscrapers, and running through exotic locales. Overall, “Mission: Impossible III” is a solid action movie with plenty of repeat viewing potential and far superior than the two previous installments. —Paul Chi
“The Omen”
20th Century Fox
What worked for the original is now dated—a ruthless American ambassador named Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber) needed to protect his image and decides to raise an orphan as his own and tell no one after his wife gives birth to a stillborn. However, in these modern times, it works in the favor of any ruthless power monger to tell the world that they’ve saved a baby from a life of doom. This is a hard fact to ignore, considering that it’s the motivation of Thorn.
We know from the title that the kid must be evil, and the story hits the evil child moments that made the original so good. Mia Farrow plays the creepy nanny, Mrs. Baylock, who seems uncomfortable and lost.
The extra features are as thin as the story. There is the perfunctory directors’ commentary, a behind the scenes look at the composer, Marco Beltrami, as well as deleted scenes.
—Dina Losito
