Lady in the Water

Paul Giamatti and Bryce Dallas Howard star in M. Night Shyamalan's newest fairy tale. Giamatti plays Mr. Heep, a building supervisor with a horrible stutter. "The Lady" or Story, is played by Howard. Both the direction and acting performances in this film are grand. Shyamalan even has a substantial role as one of the tenants in Mr. Heep's building, "The Cove." The building is full of strange and unique characters, one example is a guy who only works out one side of his body. The film is littered throughout with humor which makes it much more enjoyable than the traditional Shyamalan films. As with The Village, this film was portrayed as a scary movie. There are some startling parts but if you are looking for a horror flick this is not one to see.

Basically, this movie is a fairy tale about a fairy tale. Mr. Heep takes in Story after she saves him from drowning in the pool. Later he finds out that she is a "narf," a water nymph from an old oriental bedtime story. Mr. Heep, with the help of the tenants, protects Story from the grass covered beast that will not allow her to go back to her home. The climax unravels as Mr. Heep and the tenants follow the story to return Story to the Blue World.

I gave Lady in the Water 3.5 out of 5 Georges. This movie is worth the trip to see as it is one of Shyamalan's better films. However, you might be rubbed the wrong way by his seemingly arrogant casting of himself as the inspiring writer. If you let that go, the movie offers all of the enjoyable childlike imagination and creativity that Shyamalan is known for.

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some frightening sequences.

The Benchwarmers

The Benchwarmers is a new release DVD that is a fun summer family comedy. It offers a hilarious premise with good moral in the end. Rob Schneider, David Spade, and Napoleon Dynamite's John Heder star as three nerds turned heroes. Gus, played by Schneider, is a married landscaper. Richie, (Spade), is a movie store clerk that has never been on a date in his life. Clark (Heder), is a paper boy that has never stepped foot on a baseball field or even talked to a girl. John Lovitz also has a humorous role as a "nerd who grew up, to make billions." He drives a batmobile and has Star Wars memorabilia everywhere. When his character, Mel, hears that Gus, Richie and Clark saved his son from bullies, he offers them an opportunity. A tournament of all the best baseball teams in the area, to compete for a brand new stadium. The team is carried by Gus, who almost always hits a home-run, while Clark and Richie are just fun to watch being terrible ball-players. The rest of the movie consists of the games played to win the tournament. Clark and Richie get some training from Reggie Jackson and become a little better. Clark still has to tape the bat to his hands to get a hit but it works.

I gave The Benchwarmers 3 out of 5 Georges. Anyway, this movie is in no way original but it is very funny. It won't be a movie that you will want to watch over and over again but it is defiantly worth renting to watch at least once. Make sure and rent in town at Movie Gallery on E. Robert Toombs by the Ford Place.

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for Crude and Suggestive Humor, and for Language.