By DNA Smith
PICKS OF THE WEEK
“The Green Hornet” (PG-13) — For nearly a decade, “The Green Hornet” languished in Hollywood’s Development Hell, with virtually every leading man and director seemingly attached to the project at one time or another. For fans of the 1960s TV series starring Van Williams and Bruce Lee, it was beginning to look like this picture was never going to be made.
Then someone had the bright idea to attach Seth Rogen to the project, and any hopes for a gritty, “Dark Knight”-style action/adventure version of “The Green Hornet” went out the window in favor of a Judd Apatowesque slacker doofus farce. Great. Another bromance comedy. But hey, it’s in 3-D! Right? Right? That’s gotta be … special.
But somehow, in the midst of this ridiculous, convoluted mess of a movie, there are a few shining bits. Jay Chou’s Kato is a performance that even Bruce Lee would be proud of. The fight choreography is pretty good. And the gadget-packed Black Beauty is still one bad supercar.
It’s a shame that Columbia couldn’t have found a better lead actor and script, because “The Green Hornet” had the potential to be a great franchise. Instead, it wound up being yet another superhero misfire relegated to the midwinter-release junk pile along with the other films that weren’t good enough for the summer or holiday-season slots.
“Once Upon a Time in the West” (PG-13) — Sergio Leone’s epic 1968 masterpiece is without a doubt the “Citizen Kane” of Spaghetti Westerns. The film stars the ravishing, almost supernaturally beautiful Claudia Cardinale as a widow trying to save her homestead against the evil machinations of a railroad tycoon who sends a steel-eyed, child-murdering desperado (Henry Fonda) to kill her. Thankfully, there are two men to help her: Cheyenne (Jason Robards), the outlaw framed for the murder of her family, and the enigmatic Harmonica (Charles Bronson), a man with a troubled past who also is the fastest gun in the West.
“Taps” (PG) — Timothy Hutton stars as a cadet at a military school run by George C. Scott in this 1981 drama. When the cadets learn that the school has been sold to real-estate developers, they take matters into their own hands, turning the school into a military fortress under siege. When one of the boys accidentally kills a police officer, things take a turn for the worse as the young cadets find themselves in a standoff between themselves and the military.
TV SHOWS
“Being Human” Season 3
“Drop Dead Diva” The Complete Second Season
“Boy Meets World” The Complete Fifth Season
“According to Jim” Complete Third Season
“PJ’s” Season 1
“Penn & Teller” Eighth Season
“Melrose Place” Sixth Season V.1
“Make It or Break It” Season Two, Volume Three
“Dirty Jobs” Collection 7
“Murdoch Mysteries” Season 3
“Dora the Explorer: It’s Haircut Day”
“Pokemon: Destiny Deoxys”
“Little Rascals” Classic & Hidden Episodes
© 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.