This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Another challenge for the Green Hornet: Overcome the deadly buzz against the new movie "The Green Hornet," which suffered years of false starts, and changes in the cast and director.
According to the Tribune's Vince Horiuchi, "The Green Hornet" fails that challenge. With Seth Rogen (who co-wrote) in the lead of playboy-turned-vigilante and Jay Chou as his karate-kicking aide Kato, the movie is a shlubby Seth Rogen comedy wearing the mask of an action film.
The other big studio movie this week is "The Dilemma," a wheezing buddy comedy that relies too much on the banter of Vince Vaughn. Vaughn and Kevin James play Ronny and Nick, partners in an auto-tech startup trying to sell a new technology to Chrysler — but when Ronny discovers that Nick's wife Geneva (Winona Ryder) is having an affair with a young hunk (Channing Tatum), Ronny twists himself in knots deciding whether to tell Nick about it. Director Ron Howard fails to find a consistent tone, and casts everything he can (including odd turns by Queen Latifah and his brother Clint) in desperate attempts to get laughs.
The best movies this weekend are on the art-house slate, and both tell stories about grief and loss.
"Rabbit Hole" is a heartbreaking and well-performed adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, about a couple (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) dealing with the death of their 4-year-old son. Director John Cameron Mitchell ("Hedwig and the Angry Inch") uses muted tones to capture precisely the fine details of the couple's mourning, and draws aching performances from Kidman and Eckhart. (Read the Cricket's interview with Mitchell and Eckhart.)
The Peruvian drama "Undertow (Contracorriente)," which won the audience award for World Cinema at last year's Sundance Film Festival, tells the story of a married fisherman who has an affair with a gay painter — and what happens when the painter unexpectedly dies, but his soul still wanders the town. It's a charming drama that mixes authentic characters with just a touch of magic.