The Karate Kid - Movie Review

Speaking of eye-rollers, not a few cynics grumbled when they heard that Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith were bankrolling "The Karate Kid" as a vehicle for their son, Jaden. But the serenely self-possessed 11-year-old, while at times uncannily resembling his father, manages to carve out a screen persona all his own. As Dre Parker, who with his mother, Sherry (Taraji P. Henson), has just moved to Beijing from Detroit, he brings a soulful, searching sense of vulnerability to a kid who comes under attack from bullies on his first day in town. After a particularly brutal beat-down, Dre is defended by his apartment house caretaker, a quiet introvert named Mr. Han (Jackie Chan).
When Han -- who turns out to be a kung fu master -- goes up against the crumbums who have been terrorizing Dre, he does so largely with defensive moves that wind up literally tying the belligerents into knots. Thus does "The Karate Kid" honor the ancient Hollywood art of serving up bone-crushing violence with enlightenment on the side: Though the filmmakers invite viewers to wince and cheer during the film's increasingly painful fight scenes, they make sure to soften the blows with wise tutorials in self-discipline, respect and balance.

Toy Story 3 Gets Record Openings

Toy Story 3 logged the biggest debut in June history, taking in $109 million this weekend and extending Pixar's streak of opening at the top of the box office to 11.

The last film of the franchise, which debuted a decade ago and introduced Pixar Animation Studios to the world, bested its competition — and predecessors — by a mile. The original movie opened to $39.1 million in 1995, while Toy Story 2 did $83 million four years later.

This time around, the cartoon added 3-D and Imax to the mix, boosting repeat business as kids checked out the film in different formats. The movie became Imax's biggest animated movie on record, taking in $8.4 million on 180 screens.

"Given the history of Toy Story, it was great to be invited to the club," says Greg Foster of Imax. The film trumped last year's Monsters Vs. Aliens, the previous record-holder at $5.1 million.

"This franchise hit on every cylinder, every time," says Chuck Viane, head of distribution for Disney, which releases Pixar's films. Pixar's other number ones include Finding Nemo, Up and Monsters, Inc. No Pixar movie has debuted below No. 1.

Even critics, an often haughty bunch, hopped aboard the Toy Story bandwagon. According to RottenTomatoes.com, which surveys film critics nationwide, no movie in the Toy Story franchise has gotten a thumbs-down, making it the best-reviewed franchise in Hollywood. A competing survey site, metacritic.com, reported that 92% of critics recommended the first film, 88% the second and 91% the last.

The computer-generated juggernaut, which features Tom Hanks and Tim Allen at its core, gave the industry a boost in what has been a middling summer. Competing films, while posing no threat to Toy Story's hold on the box office, enjoyed spillover audiences as the film sold out thousands of theaters.

"Given how much Toy Story had everyone's attention, we couldn't be happier with the weekend," says Rory Bruer of Sony Pictures, which released the remake of The Karate Kid last weekend. The film, starring Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, dropped a respectable 48% from its debut, taking in $29 million and taking second place, according to studio estimates.

The Twilight Saga Eclipse Movie Review

For anyone who has a ready answer to that question, the arrival of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" is as welcome as a northwestern breeze in the middle of a torrid heat wave. And they will most likely feel well rewarded by this respectful, unfussy installment of their beloved "Twilight" series, in which 17-year-old heroine Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) inches ever closer to becoming a vampire and joining her forbidden love, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) forever.

Of course, there are complications, not least among them Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), her childhood friend -- oh, and part-time werewolf -- who has a knack for showing up at inopportune moments. "Doesn't he own a shirt?" Edward asks mockingly at one point. And it's true, Jake and his posse give more ab action than the entire cast of "300" (with better tattoos).

In "Eclipse," Bella is also being pursued by the flame-haired Victoria (played by Bryce Dallas Howard in a role originated by the unceremoniously axed Rachelle Lefevre), who is busy amassing an army of "newborn" vampires to wreak vengeance on Bella and the whole Cullen clan.

But anyone interested in seeing "Eclipse" knows this already because, like "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings," the "Twilight" movies are designed not as movies that work as cinematic objects themselves, but rather as illustrations of books whose fans approach them with the exegetical seriousness of sacred texts. As such, "Eclipse" succeeds with honor, if not panache, moving the story along with economy and focused momentum. As Catherine Hardwicke did in the first "Twilight," director David Slade pays close attention to mood and atmosphere, a sensitivity that last year's "New Moon" grievously lacked (somehow both frenetic and plodding, it wound up feeling like "The Da Vinci Code" mashed up with a feminine-hygiene commercial).

With all the talk about the Big Change to come after graduation, with Bella longing for physical intimacy with Edward and Edward valiantly resisting, the cardinal "Twilight" themes of longing, chastity and protection are stronger than ever. More deeply psychological than the first two, "Eclipse" goes further not just in advancing the story but also in illuminating the tension that Bella embodies -- between autonomy and surrender -- and clarifying her desire to become a bloodless, marmoreal being who has no human connections. With Edward, she explains at one point, she feels "stronger, more real, more myself."

Still, for characters with such provocative complications, Bella and Edward are extraordinarily bland, especially channeled by way of Stewart and Pattinson's slurry, reticent delivery and resistance to making eye contact. Barely recognizable beneath pale makeup and brown contacts that give her a dilated, doll-like stare, Stewart registers emotion mostly by looking as if she's just eaten a bad sandwich. The film's most animated scene isn't between her and Pattinson, but between Pattinson and Lautner, as their characters discuss their rivalry with good-natured guy talk. "Face it, I'm hotter than you," Jake says to the cold-blooded Edward.

Filmed mostly as a series of close-ups of people talking, with occasional flashbacks and blurry, nearly incoherent action scenes, "Eclipse" will look fine on an iPhone, which for its teenage audience is probably all to the good. If Slade doesn't necessarily advance the medium with this installment, he nonetheless advances the franchise, with enough lucidity and skill that he's persuaded at least one erstwhile agnostic to take a stand. Team Jacob, all the way. Shirts are overrated.