The Last of Robin Hood (opens in Cleveland September 5th at the Cedar Lee and Capitol Theatres)

[THE LAST OF ROBIN HOOD opens in Cleveland on Friday September 5th at the Cedar Lee Theatre and the Capitol Theatre.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

It's doubtful there was a need for a film about Errol Flynn's late in life fling with teenage aspiring actress Beverly Aadland, but nonetheless we have just that in THE LAST OF ROBIN HOOD. As the film starts, Flynn (Kevin Kline) is already dead and Beverly (Dakota Fanning) is being bombarded with questions from reporters. The pressure proves to much, and the young girl faints. Or is it all a staged performance orchestrated by Beverly's mother, Florence (Susan Sarandon)? Perhaps flashing back in time will shed some light.

Snitch

Review by Bob Ignizio

The unfairness of our nation's federal mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for drug crimes is illustrated through motor vehicle chases and gunfights in SNITCH, a new film starring Dwayne (we're not supposed to still be calling him “The Rock”) Johnson. Sure, one could argue that this topic deserves a more high minded vehicle, but since none appears to be forthcoming I say kudos to director/co-writer Ric Roman Waugh, co-writer Justin Haythe, and the producers (including Mr. Johnson himself) for making this film. SNITCH may essentially be a mid-seventies drive-in movie with slightly bigger stars and production values, but like many of those films it has the ability to reach a different, and possibly wider audience than a more serious film by putting entertainment first and letting the social commentary take a backseat to the action.

Jeff, Who Lives at Home

Review by Bob Ignizio

According to the philosophy of Jeff (Jason Segel), everything is connected and every coincidence is a meaningful sign from the universe. So what then does it mean that both Seigel and his I LOVE YOU MAN co-star Paul Rudd had films released within a year of each other in which they each played the pothead black sheep of a dysfunctional family who turns out to have more wisdom than you might think? Maybe if Robert Anton Wilson or Carl Jung were still alive they could find some profound significance in it all, but I'll just stick to reviewing the movie.

Like Rudd's OUR IDIOT BROTHER, JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME is by today's comedy standards about as gentle and nice as they come. So is its main character, Jeff. I imagine most people have known guys like Jeff; still living at home in their parent's basement, still waking and baking, still aimlessly adrift in the adult world, but by no means bad people. When Jeff answers a wrong number looking for a “Kevin”, he takes it as yet another sign.