Rental movie reviews

I've watched a handful of rental movies lately. Here they are:

Hitch: They tried to advertise this as if it's not a traditional romantic comedy, which is exactly what it is, albeit one that is watchable due to Will Smith. He gives a charasmatic performance and it's really hard not to like him. Kevin James was decent too, as was Eva Mendes, but the script was absolutely paint by numbers. Grade: B-

In Good Company: Another mediocre movie made watchable by a great cast. Topher Grace is really good and Dennis Quaid is great too. I'm not really sure how they got Scarlett Johansen for this, as she's basically wasted. And the ending of the movie is completely flat with not nearly enough resolution for either of the two young leads. All in all, pretty disappointing. Grade: C+

Coach Carter: Overlong and predictable, but made somewhat entertaining by the always-brilliant Samuel L. Jackson. It's a theme that's been done a million times before (and done better): the hard-ass coach who comes in to fix up the messy situation, but only if he can do it HIS WAY. Of course, the punkish players are resistant, but then buy into it. Yeah..."Hoosiers" called, and they want their story back. But I'd watch Sam Jackson read the phone book, so...Grade: B-

Team America: World Police: Okay, I had really high hopes for this one. After all, the theme song alone is one of the funniest things I've ever heard. But the movie just wasn't that great. it had its moments, and if you're looking for hot marionette sex then this is the film for you. But comedy-wise, it certainly didn't reach the peaks of "South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut." Grade: B-

Ocean's 12: I had to save this review for last. It warrants mentioning that the Ocean's 11 remake is one of my favorite films ever. In fact, I think it is literally perfect. It's funny, cool, and clever. That being said, I got a really bad vibe about Ocean's 12 just from the ad campaign. It just didn't look good and somehow, despite loving the first one, I waited until video for this one. And when I do that, unfortunately, I usually turn out to be right. This is one of the most disappointing sequels in the history of film. There's bad, there's really bad, and then there's the likes of Caddyshack 2, Rocky 5, and now, sadly, Ocean's 12. It was just dreadful. No humor, no spark, and a muddled, unengaging story including a "plot twist" so ludicrious an ill-conceived that you have to wonder what has happened to the writers and producers who came up with it and allowed it to be filmed. Just horrible. Grade: D-