Though claimed by many to be a spoof of zombie movies, “Shaun of the Dead” is really something more unusual. A spoof is like, say, “Scary Movie,” where scenes from other movies are repeated/altered as parodies. The zombies in “Shaun of the Dead” are played absolutely straight—they’re genuine menaces. It’s the human beings who are funny, often very funny. It is, however, partly a parody of modern-day romantic comedies; some have dubbed it the first “romzomcom”—romantic zombie comedy. But what’s important isn’t which category the movie belongs in, but that it’s done with intelligence, a lot of wit and plenty of slapstick. The young cast, mostly unknowns to people this side of the Atlantic, really gets into the film and has great fun with the story and each other. If you doubt this, just listen to the commentary track by most of the leading actors; it’s incoherent and unilluminating, but it’s clearly the ...

  "Meet the Fockers", directed by Jay Roach, accomplishes what most sequels fail miserably at – to equal or best the original. This is one sequel that manages to bring in laughs by the barrel. Most of us remember the comedic performances in "Meet the Parents". Well, the gang's all here in the sequel, with the addition of two more veterans to the screen. Robert De Niro returns as Jack Byrnes, retired CIA agent, still hot to expel Greg from his "circle of trust". Of course, Ben Stiller is back to play Gaylord "Greg" Focker (you just can't make up names like that anymore). Rounding out the returning cast are Teri Polo as Greg's fiancée, Pam Byrnes, and Blythe Danner as Pam's mother, Dina. Even Owen Wilson comes back to make a cameo. Two shining additions to the sequel are Dustin Hoffman and Barbara Streisand as Greg's parents, Bernie and Rozalin Focker. ...

  Paul Weitz has an unusual, admirable talent. In “American Pie,” “About a Boy” and “In Good Company,” he handled unpromising material in unexpected ways, finding heart and soul in material that wouldn’t seem to require, or even have, such virtues. Although at 110 minutes, “In Good Company” is definitely too long, it’s a warm, funny movie with compassion for even the least of its characters. It’s also a romantic comedy which winds up the romance in an unusual but rewarding way—and in which the most meaningful relationship is between two men. Dennis Quaid is Dan Foreman, the executive ad salesman for the popular “Sports America” magazine. As the story opens, he’s trying to sell ad space to sporting goods manufacturer Kalb (Philip Baker Hall), but he’s anything but a hard seller, and though he doesn’t make a sale, he and Kalb part as friends. Meanwhile elsewhere, at vast global conglomerate Globecom, eager-beaver, ambitious ...

  “Erin Brockovich” is remembered as one of those signature roles that made an actress’s career. Julia Roberts’s portrayal of the title character certainly did it for her, and won her an Academy Award. It also allowed her to shed her innocent image to pave the way for her to take on meatier roles. Roberts manages the somewhat risqué attire in flamboyant style that she wasn’t known for. She has no problem shifting her breasts for the camera, flashing them at a hapless character in the movie that she needs help from, or shoving them back into the sexy bras as the scene calls for. More than that, though, Roberts delivers one of the sharpest bits of acting in her career. If the movie is to be believed, the real Erin Brockovich had a mouth on her that wouldn’t quit and attitude out the wazoo. Roberts can turn on innocent charm, sultry seductress, ...

  I’ve been bathing with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for almost twenty years. That hasn’t been out of choice. It’s been because I’ve had children at just the right ages to enjoy the whole concept of mutated ninja turtles fighting evil bad guys (EVIL BAD is not totally redundant because there are bad guys and evil bad guys, according to my kids, who know from bad guys), living in the sewers of a large city, and ordering pizza. I don’t know how many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures I’ve bought over the years, but it seems like enough to populate a small city. Or at least a suburb, ward, or district. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird first developed the idea of the four turtles named after Italian artists (Michaelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael) as a spoof to some of the comics field’s hottest selling series back in the early 1980s, specifically ...