ALEX CHADWICK, host:
And finally, it's Friday film time again. Summary Judgment is the digest of the latest movie reviews from the online magazine Slate, here is writer Mark Jordan Legan.
Mr. MARK JORDAN LEGAN (Slate): First up, we have the wide release urban crime thriller, Waist Deep. An ex-con returns to the gritty streets of LA and is plunged into a life and death situation when his son is kidnapped by a crime boss. Tyrese Gibson and Meagan Good star.
(Soundbite of movie, Waist Deep)
Ms. MEAGAN GOOD (Actor): And then what's your next move?
Mr. TYRESE GIBSON (Actor): Take me(ph) to go get my son.
Ms. GOOD: You can't even get near him.
Mr. GIBSON: I can get near anybody.
Ms. GOOD: No, trust me. I used to work for that a lot; I know what I'm talking about. If you really want your son, you need to get that money.
Mr. LEGAN: The nation's critics are all over the place on this one. The Seattle Post Intelligencer, complains that the dialogue is clichéd and the story makes so little sense that the script seems to have been improvised. But the Chicago Tribune is more generous, calling Waist Deep's performances, pretty good, and the screenplay has some genuinely funny moments.
Next up in limited release, we have the documentary concert film, Leonard Cohen, I'm Your Man. Since 1967, poet and singer-songwriter Cohen, has fascinated audiences with his quirky personality and powerful dark music. Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, and Bono are just a few of the musicians who pay tribute.
(Soundbite of movie, Leonard Cohen, I'm Your Man)
Mr. PAUL BONO HEWSON (musician): Some people, you know, cut hedges. Some people are plumbers. Some people are doctors and nurses. Leonard Cohen you feel is a songwriter. He goes to work at that.
Mr. LEGAN: The critics applaud I'm Your Man. Entertainment Weekly gushes, I'm not generally a big fan of tribute concerts, but this is a glorious exception. USA Today cheers, Movingly captures the artist's life-long search for truth and beauty, and Rolling Stone calls it a muddled, but marvelous blend of documentary and concert film.
And we close with the wide-release Adam Sandler comedy, Click. Sandler plays an over-worked husband, father, architect, who's given a magical remote control from a weirdo at Bed, Bath & Beyond, that allows him to pause, fast forward and rewind through is hectic life. Kate Beckinsale plays Sandler's wife and Christopher Walken stars as the weirdo.
(Soundbite of movie, Click)
Mr. ADAM SANDLER (Actor): You look a little pale there, pal. Let me fix that.
(Soundbite of remote clicking)
Mr. SANDLER: Oh, look at you now. You're all yellow from the scurvy. Argh, Captain.
Mr. LEGAN: Most critics wanted to fast forward through the whole movie. Now the Hollywood Reporter liked it, calling Click, One of his best comic vehicles yet, but the majority of the reviews were like this one from Premier Magazine, Yet another uninspired Sandler goof-fest with a long-suffering leading lady, mildly bawdy gags, and a predictable ending. And the Atlanta Journal Constitution moans, The writers have taken a clever premise and given it a singularly unclever execution.
Yeah, you never know what supernatural thing you'll get at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Just last week I bought a full-length bathroom mirror there and I swear, when I look into it, it shows me this really pale, out-of-shape guy, and I'm like, Whoa dude, I don't know who this lard-o is, but show me my reflection. And I gotta return that thing.
CHADWICK: Mark Jordan Legan is a writer living in Los Angeles. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.