Thursday, September 29, 2011

Talking Pictures: '50/50' | 'Weekend' | 'What's Your Number?' | 'Toast' | 'Machine Gun Preacher'

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Grim reality provides fodder for tender comedy in '50/50' — 3 stars
'50/50' — 3 stars
Grim fodder for tender comedy

It's a cancer film; no getting around it. But the tender and funny "50/50" addresses its protagonist's health crisis and chances for survival directly, with a refreshing lack of narrative hemming, hawing or embroidery.

'Weekend' to remember, and a filmmaker too — 4 stars 'Weekend' — 4 stars
A filmmaker to remember

One of the year's best in any genre reminds you a so-called "relationship movie" needn't bother with chords of universality.
'Toast' a memoir, with more than a hint of condescension — 2 1/2 stars 'Toast' — 2 1/2 stars
A condescending memoir

Like the lemon meringue pies it features throughout, the British comedy-drama "Toast" is tasty, hearty and rather conventional.
'Machine Gun Preacher': Man of God, carnage — 1 1/2 stars 'Machine Gun Preacher' — 1 1/2
Man of God, carnage

Realizing that it takes a village, "Machine Gun Preacher" gives blood-soaked missionary work a bad name.
'What's Your Number?' counts on a dated premise — 2 stars 'What's Your Number?' — 2 stars
A dated premise

It's a close call, but Anna Faris survives "What's Your Number?" with eccentric comic charm intact.
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