Jan Wahl Movie Review: 'Green Lantern'
(KCBS) - KCBS Entertainment Editor Jan Wahl reviews the latest superhero film starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Peter Sarsgaard.
GREEN LANTERN (PG-13)
Nobody was more surprised than I was to give my highest rating of four hats to X-Men: First Class..it is a genre (superheroes, comic books) that usually bores me. But it is smart, fun and even historical, in a superhero sort of way. This latest superhero movie, The Green Lantern, is a reminder of how dull and repetitive these films can be. Ryan Reynolds is a fighter pilot who gets past a childhood tragedy by having the power to create intergalactic order. He faces off enemies, wears a nice gaudy ring, and has a childhood sweetheart who may be a pilot too but asks vapid and too weak to blow dry her own hair..Blake Lively..drama school calling. Ignore this one, get to the new X-Men if you want a hot of real superhero storytelling. No hats.
JUST LIKE US (not rated)
This is something very different...stand up comics go to Dubai, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. We get a good look at how audiences all over the world need to laugh. This does what good docs do..present us with a unique world with a new perspective. Too long, but still worth seeing.
MAKING THE BOYS (not rated)
This fine film explores the drama, struggle and legacy of the first gay play to reach a mainstream Hollywood audience: The Boys in the Band. New interviews with perspective and personal impact include Carson Kressley, Paul Rudnick, Terrence McNally and others. A reminder of where this vital, important Community has been and how it has both changed and endured.
COMPANY (Not rated)
Neil Patrick Harris leads a strong cast in this Stephen Sondheim play about a confirmed bachelor reflecting on his own life..and the lives led by his married friends. Steven Colbert, Christina Hendrix, Jon Cryer, Patty LaPone, Martha Plimpton all lend their talents..pretend you're visiting a Broadway show without the travel and expense! (Oscar time I hope for Harris and Hugh Jackman as co-hosts)
SEE NOW: MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, BEGINNERS
DVD/HOME VIDEO: TRUE GRIT (2010), THE KING'S SPEECH (2010), THE COMPANY MEN
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