50/50

Review: 50/50
3 stars (out of 5)
By R. Kurt Osenlund

When we first see Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), he's jogging down the sidewalk, only to stop at a red light. There isn't a car to be seen, and another runner ignores the flashing hand and breezes past him. He's soon shown taking his grand old time with his daily routines, and we later learn that he doesn't have a driver's license because car accidents are "the nation's fifth leading cause of death." Directed by Jonathan Levine (The Wackness), 50/50 is a film about the tragic obliteration of youthful, everyday normalcy, expressed via the troubles of a perfectly normal 27-year-old who burns away minutes and holds life at arm's length before getting slapped with a rather grim cancer diagnosis.

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ABDUCTION

Review: Abduction
2 stars (out of 5)
By R. Kurt Osenlund

Odds are John Singleton doesn't know he's made one of the funniest films of the year. Extravagantly clueless in all its conspiracy-theory camp, "Abduction" swiftly morphs from your average teen-heartthrob vehicle into the most egregious source of unintentional gut-busters this side of Forks, Washington. Out of context, it's hard to convey the full, howling hilarity of so many numskull lines, as most don't come to full blossom without logic-defying, stone-faced delivery from the actors and Singleton's steadfast perpetuation of a tone that borders on slapstick. But know that this baby is a machine of quotability, a good one to catch if you and your friends like injecting gleefully horrendous movie dialogue into daily life.

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I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT

Review: I Don't Know How She Does It
1 star (out of 5)
By R. Kurt Osenlund

Since she's click-clacked her stylish self to the top of Hollywood's list of can-do, metropolitan actresses, it's no wonder Sarah Jessica Parker was picked to fill the busy shoes of Kate Reddy, the multitasking, Boston-navigating working mom at the center of I Don't Know How She Does It, an adaptation of Allison Pearson's chick-lit bestseller. But in reality (a place of which this bumbling, regressive cartoon has nary the slightest concept), Parker is the worst choice for the role, and her casting is your first indication of the grating obviousness that bleeds through the entire operation.

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