Dan's Papers - January 18, 2008 - Mike Vilensky's Mini-Movie Reviews

What is Cloverfield?! This question begs an answer during the enticing trailer for this J.J. Abrams (Lost) movie about a monstrous thing destroying Manhattan, all caught on camera by your average hip residents who were throwing a party when "Cloverfield" crashed it. Sometimes it seems like Hollywood wants New York City destroyed.

Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton star in this comedy about three (strong) female janitors at the Federal Reserve who conspire to steal a fortune of money that is going to be destroyed. Campy, delightful and so eighties!

Talk about single and bitter - Katherine Heigl stars as a woman who has served as a bridesmaid 27 times and now must watch her sister marry the man she secretly loves! Ouch.

Get a head start on the Oscar season and a smart-sounding recommendation by seeing this dark, brilliant portrayal of an oil-hungry businessman in turn-of-the-century Texas by cult director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights). There will be awards in a country very much for old men of late, cinematically speaking.

This week's post-Christmas crop needs no cynicism from me, as the films speak for themselves. This one, starring Ice Cube, is a comedy about criminals who learn the error of their ways from the church parishioners they hold hostage. On second thought, this could become a fan favorite.

Well, this film features a farmer who must save his kidnapped wife and avenge the death of his son from the Krugs, a race of animal-warriors who are controlled by the evil Gallian. Er, what? Again - a film perhaps so bad that it's good, and one that probably has its niche.

The surprising success of the first National Treasure movie, a sort of diet Da Vinci Code, prompted this sequel in which superman Nicholas Cage must track down the missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary in order to uncover a worldwide conspiracy. History and action, oh my.

An ineffably cute indie film in which a high school hipster realizes that sarcasm, wit and good taste in music can't get one through a life-changing ordeal like teenage pregnancy. Michael Cera co-stars as the boy who knocked her up in this dark comedy, quickly becoming a teenage favorite.

A thirteen-year-old aspiring writer with a taste for malice irrevocably changes the course of some lives when she accuses her older sister's lover of a crime he did not commit. Based on the best-selling Ian McEwan novel and with the beautiful Keira Knightley in tow, I have nothing negative to say about this one (so the review will stay short).