New Movies for the Feb 22 weekend

Written by Sean McBride

Thursday, 21 February 2008

Two pretty good films roll into town, plus the Oscars on TV—it’s a great week for movie lovers, even if Larry the Cable Guy is trying to spoil all the fun. It’s a bit disconcerting that two days after former President Clinton came to town, we have “Vantage Point,” a film that tells the story of a presidential assassination. Matthew Fox and Dennis Quaid play two Secret Service agents who are trying to figure out what really happened when the president was shot. This is a mystery, and they have to put the puzzle together by using eight different eyewitness accounts. “Vantage Point” feels like a Hitchcock film meets Jack Bauer in “24.” I could have used a bit more mystery, but it’s nice to see a smart, adult-level thriller like “Vantage Point.” “Charlie Bartlett,” is another winner—a teen comedy that feels like “Ferris Buehler” for a new millennium. Anton Yelchin plays Charlie, a resourceful but troubled kid who becomes something of a psychiatrist at his new school. His angst-ridden teenage patients tell him their troubles, and Charlie hooks them up with the prescription meds that he taken off of mommy’s shrinks. Robert Downy, Jr. plays the school principal who locks horns with Charlie Bartlett, which makes for a film with great acting and a screenplay that nicely walks the line between teen comedy and message movie. And Finally, Larry the Cable Guy makes another stab at lowbrow comedy, with “Witless Protection.” Not screened for critics, “Witless” finds Larry playing a small town sheriff trying to save a woman that he thinks is being kidnapped. Naturally, Larry gets it wrong… Now as for the Academy Awards, I’ve got five words, “No Country for Old Men.” Get my complete list of Oscar predictions here . Finally, some great stuff on home DVD. The best of the bunch is my number 5 film from 2007, the Best Picture Oscar-nominated “Michael Clayton.” And that’s what’s new in theaters this week, I’m Sean McBride the movie guy for Newscenter 25.

Last Updated ( Friday, 22 February 2008 )