Movies

The Green Hornet is a somewhat strange comic/superhero mythology to begin with, and the curious infusion of both director Michel Gondry and actor Seth Rogen turns the story on its ear, though not necessarily with negative results. On the plus side of the whole affair, few are familiar enough with The Green Hornet to balk at the loose play with Britt Reid's persona. A slapsticky goof as Bruce Wayne might raise eyebrows, but since we're introducing Reid to 98% of the population, we might as well reinvent him. Reid is the son of a newspaper man, and lives the good life as only a spoiled, useless rich kid can. He parties, blows money, and couldn't put together the requisite thought process to have a care in the world. When his father suddenly dies, he finds himself in charge of a newspaper, with no idea how to run it, and no desire to in any case. He's handling things fairly well, but when his coffee isn't up to par, he blows a gasket. He learns that his father's man Friday, Kato (Jay Chou), has been in charge of coffee up to now, but Britt fired him in a mass housecleaning. We soon discover that Kato is a brilliant inventor, martial arts expert, and all around handy guy to have with you in a jam.

Certain movies just take on a life of their own, and in some cases there was just no way to predict the film's ultimate status. In 1989, Keanu Reeves...

A Million Ways to Die in the West isn't especially worth your time, and the most probable result will be simply a kind of disappointment at what might have been. It can't fit the pieces together as well as it ought to, and many of them are from a different puzzle altogether.

The trailer has more suspense than most films. Can the movie deliver?