Dan's Papers - April 25, 2008 - Tiffany Razzano's Mini-Movie Reviews

Based on a true story, Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), an MIT student, is struggling to pay his tuition. His problem is solved when he is recruited by his math professor (Kevin Spacey) to join a group of students who are trained in the art of card counting in order to take Las Vegas casinos for millions.

On the eve of the execution of a serial killer he helped put on death row, Dr. Jack Gramm (Al Pacino), a college professor and forensic psychologist who works closely with the FBI, receives a phone call from someone telling him he has only 88 minutes to live. As he attempts to discover who is behind the phone calls, he finds himself investigating a copycat killer who is on the loose.

In this comedy, Tina Fey stars as Kate Holbrook, a single, successful businesswomen who wants to have a child but learns she's infertile. When she meets working-class Angie (Amy Poehler), Kate decides Angie will be her surrogate mother. But when Angie comes knocking on Kate's door with no place to live, the mismatched pair become roommates for the duration of her pregnancy.

Based on a 1971 true-life robbery of a bank on Baker Street in London, two crooks (Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows) get away with a safety deposit box worth millions in cash and jewelry. However, the box also contains secrets that intertwine the duo with Britain's criminal underworld, the government and the Royal Family.

The true story of the largest counterfeit ring in history. In 1936, Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch, an underworld counterfeiter, is thrown into a concentration camp, where he is handpicked by the Nazis to produce fake foreign currency in order to weaken the economy of Germany's enemies.

Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor), an accountant, is introduced to an exclusive and anonymous sex club by a lawyer friend (Hugh Jackman). But the excitement of this new world quickly goes downhill when he becomes the prime suspect in a woman's disappearance as well as a multi-million dollar heist.

After discovering in a pawn shop the antique staff that belonged to the legendary Monkey King (Jet Li), an American teen who is obsessed with kung fu unexpectedly travels in time to ancient China to help a group of warriors free the imprisoned king. Also starring Jackie Chan.

From the producers of Knocked Up, struggling musician Peter Bretter (Jason Segel) deals with the heartbreak of being dumped by his TV star girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell) by taking an impromptu trip to Hawaii. Unfortunately, he is staying in the same hotel as Sarah and her new rocker boyfriend. But a resort employee (Mila Kunis) helps him keep his mind off his ex.

A lushly animated and extended version of the Dr. Seuss classic: the jovial elephant named Horton (Jim Carrey) hears a sound emanating from a grain on a flower, in which lives a tiny town named Whoville. It quickly becomes a race against sour kangaroos and greasy vultures to save this lint-sized discovery from annihilation. Wonderful!

Robert Downey Jr. is given his chance to bring yet another comic book character to life. When wealthy industrialist and inventor Tony Stark (Downey) is kidnapped and forced to build a weapon that could cause immense devastation, he instead creates a high-tech suit of armor and escapes. He vows to use his suit to protect the world from evil.

Dodge Connolly (George Clooney), a hero in America's pro-football league in 1925, is determined to save his team and the fledgling league from demise. After bringing in college football star Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski), Connolly finds himself competing with the young player for the affections of reporter Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger) as she tries to uncover the real scoop on Rutherford.

In this 1940s period-piece, after falling in love with a much younger woman (Rachel McAdams), Harry (Chris Cooper) decides he must kills his wife Pat (Patricia Clarkson) because he can't bear the thought of hurting her when he leaves her. At the same time, he is vying with his best friend (Pierce Brosnan) for his girlfriend's affections.