Film Shorts: February 2008

Quick takes on new releases

By D.K. Holm

Film critic D.K. Holm offers up witty (and pithy) analyses on a handful of this month's new theater releases...

The Orphanage The Others redux as a woman returns as an adult to the now-haunted Spanish orphanage of her childhood... -->

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale Convoluted-sounding sword and sorcery tale with Jason Statham and Leelee Sobieski...

First Sunday Two losers decide to rob a church, starring Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan...

Mad Money Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes, and Queen Latifah decide that robbing the Federal Mint is a good shortcut to prosperity...

Untraceable Film shot in Portland, Oregon, in which FBI agent Diane Lane attempts to track down a savvy but murderous internet nerd...

The Other Boleyn Girl Star power (Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson) will probably not prevent this film from being another tedious Heritage tale...

Meet the Spartans Yet another parody of other movies, mostly teen comedies...

<-- Semi-Pro In his methodical onslaught of all our major entertainment institutions, Will Ferrell now turns to pro ball...

How She Move Latest torn-from-the-streets urban dance movie…

Strange Wilderness Steve Zahn comedy set in the world of TV nature shows...

Penelope Christina Ricci plays a sheltered girl with a pig snout who falls in love with James McAvoy...

The Eye Remake of the Asian horror film about a woman (Jessica Alba) whose eye transplant lets her see into other worlds...

The Hottie and the Nottie In order to get at the dish he wants, a guy must first pair off her ugly girlfriend. Not since Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew has a comedy so plumbed the truth of modern life...

Fool’s Gold Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey play estranged husband and wife treasure hunters...

Diary of the Dead George Romero returns to the genre he made famous, taking a “found video” approach to his latest zombie film...

Rambo Sylvester Stallone’s signature character returns to rescue Christian aide workers captured in Burma and ignites an international incident... -->

Be Kind Rewind Jack Black seeks to save a video store by re-shooting all of its VHS tapes he accidentally erased with his magnetic brain...

Vantage Point An attempted presidential assassination told from various viewpoints...

Charlie Bartlett A troubled rich kid becomes house shrink at the public school he’s been demoted to...

Possession Yet another J-horror adaptation, yet again with Sarah Michelle Gellar…