Seen and reviewed (July 10)
New films in theaters this week:
– “Bruno” (rated R), another outrageous comedy from “Borat” star and creator Sacha Baron Cohen.
– “The Hurt Locker” (rated R), a war thriller about explosive disposal units.
– “I Love You, Beth Cooper” (rated PG-13), a teen romantic comedy starring Hayden Panettiere.
– “Moon” (rated R), a science-fiction thriller starring Sam Rockwell.
– “Tulpan” (not rated), a drama about Kazakh farmers. Russian with subtitles.
“Beth Cooper” is supposed to be a career revival project for director Chris Columbus. It’s painfully unfunny and pretty crude, though.
Speaking of crude, “Bruno” is so in-your-face it’s nearly unwatchable. It’s also, story structure wise, the same film as “Borat.” (And how it didn’t get an NC-17 rating from the MPAA is anyone’s guess.)
“Tulpan” explores the same foreign culture “Borat” spoofed. It’s told in a fashion that’s too dry, however.
But the low-budgeted “Moon” is worthwhile. Rockwell is terrific, as always, and the cerebral approach to the storytelling recalls earlier classics such as “2001.”
Poster art courtesy Summit Entertainment.
The week’s best film, by far, is “Hurt Locker,” an unbelievably tense thriller set in Iraq. It’s among the finest movies made to date about the subject, and all three of its unheralded leads (Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) might become stars as a result of their performances.
Which, if any, of these movies fit into your weekend viewing plans?