Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast
New Releases 6/01/07

Knocked Up (R)
Seth Rogan, Katherine Heigl
Directed by: Judd Apatow
Teddy bear kind of guy spends one night with hottie when oops ” she’s pregnant. This film works because the girl is willing to consider the possibility of spending the rest of her life with the exact opposite of the man of her dreams. What she doesn’t consider is that he comes complete with a posse of beer guzzling, sex obsessed, loser friends.
3 and 1/2 pieces of pregnant toast.

Mr. Brooks (R)
Kevin Costner, Willliam Hurt, Demi Moore
Directed by: Bruce A. Adams
Who would ever suspect that the, community sprited, CEO of a cardboard box factory could be serial killer? Well the Demi Moore police inspector gets it wrong (at first) but the “devil-on-his shoulder”best friend (William Hurt) never doubts Kevin Costner can be truly evil. With this level of acting, do we really need all that blood?
2 and 1/2 pieces of why isn’t this a better package toast

Jindabyne (R)
Laura Linney, Leah Purcell, John Howard, Deborra-Lee Furness, Gabriel Byrne
Directed by: Ray Lawrence
The director of “Lantana” takes a complex issue and makes it even more murky.
When a group of fishermen discover the body of a young woman in the water, they decide to leave her there and catch their limit before reporting the discovery. Is their callousness based upon the fact that she is an Aborigine? Her tribe thinks so, and believe the fishermen have prevented the girl’s spirit from entering smoothly into the dream time.
2 and 1/2 pieces of murky Australian toast

Gracie (PG-13)
Carly Shroeder, Demot Mulroney, Elisabeth Shue
Directed by: Davis Guggenheim
Best known as the actress who starred in such diverse movies as “Back to the Future,” Adventures in Babysitting,” and “Leaving Las Vegas,” before she became an actress, Shue played on the boys soccer team. She and her brothers are the producers, and her husband is director of “Gracie,” an intellligent story about a soccer obsessed father and his talented goal-making daughter. The warts-and-all family dynamics are what raise this (eventually) feel good movie to something special.
3 pieces of soccer goal toast

NEW ON VIDEO/DVD

Hannibal Rising (R)
Gaspard Ullel, Rhys Ifans, Gong Li,
Directed by: Peter Weber
Box Office: $27,503,677
In “The Very Long Engagement” Ulleil played the man Audrey Tatou searched for for years, but I don’t believe him as Hannibal Lector any more than I believe “Danny Deckchair” (Rhys Ifans) as a sadistic Nazi. In this unncessary, uninteresting and uninspired prequel, everyone involved seems just in it for the paycheck .
1 and 1/2 pieces of gory psychology toast