Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is another entertaining romp for the Marvel-superhero franchise. Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd), is treading on thin ice when his fiancÈe, Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman (Jessica Alba), thinks he's more interested in a series of cosmic phenomena occurring around the earth than in the preparations for their upcoming wedding. Sorry, ladies, but Reed is right.
If you prefer your cataclysms free of terrorist overtones and your superheroes unburdened by Freudian subtext-sometimes a comic book is just a comic book, after all-you could do worse than this flick. Four scientists and their corporate sponsor (guess who's the bad guy) are conducting experiments on a space station when they're hit by an unexpectedly powerful blast of solar radiation, altering their DNA and giving them freakish powers that cleverly reflect their personalities.
With enough lively banter to keep its customers happy for years, Barbershop is a loose, lanky comedy with its heart--and its humor--in all the right places. Ice Cube plays Calvin, reluctant heir to his late father's barbershop on Chicago's South Side--a neighborhood institution that seems like a trap for a guy with bigger dreams. But Calvin is devoted to his employees and local customers, and when he makes an ill-considered deal with a loan shark (Keith David), the future of the barbershop hangs in the balance.
