Ny Post Chimp Cartoon

Capsule reviews of feature films

ANOTHER EARTH 3 stars. Newcomer Brit Marling stars as a college student who accidentally causes a profound tragedy, at the same time an astounding discovery - the existence of a parallel planet - rocks the world. A smart, quiet, resonant film, which the actress co-wrote with sure-handed first-time feature director Mike Cahill. 1 hr. 32 PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) - Steven Rea </p><p> BAD TEACHER 2 1/2 stars. Some pricelessly derisive turns from Cameron Diaz, as a boozy, gold-digging middle school instructress who sets her sites on an impossibly rich, impossibly nice new colleague, played by Justin Timberlake. But the jokes aren't as good as the concept, and things settle into predictable default-mode raunch. 1 hr. 32 R (sex, nudity, drugs, profanity, adult themes) - Steven Rea</p><p> BEATS, RHYMES, &#38; LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST 3 stars. Michael Rapaport's directorial debut music doc tracks the rise, disintegration and reformation of A Tribe Called Quest, the New York rap group that were key players in the musically and lyrically rich Native Tongues movement of the early 1990s. Rapaport captures a culturally influential moment as he broadens the picture to consider chronological cohorts like De La Soul and the Jungle Brothers, and gets dramatic mileage out of the contentious creative partnership between Tribe rappers Q-Tip and Phife Dawg. 1 hr. 35 R (profanity) - Dan DeLuca</p><p> BEGINNERS 3 stars. Mike Mills' captivating film about a melancholy young man (Ewan McGregor) both damaged and inspired by his vivacious father (Christopher Plummer) who comes out of the closet at 75. 1 hr. 45 R (profanity, sexual content) - Carrie Rickey</p><p> A BETTER LIFE 3 1/2 stars. Chris Weitz's resonant character study of an undocumented immigrant working as a gardener in Los Angeles is as modest and epic as the performance by Demian Bichir as its central character. 1 hr. 38 PG-13 (brief violence, brief profanity, brief drug use) - Carrie Rickey </p><p> BRIDESMAIDS 3 stars. A hybrid. Part female friendship flick, part grossout gagfest, this comedy of terrors co-written by and starring Kristen Wiig is about singleton afraid of losing her best friend (Maya Rudolph) to a rival bride attendant (Rose Byrne). With Chris O'Dowd and Jon Hamm. 2 hrs. 05 R (sex, potty mouths and potty humor) - Carrie Rickey</p><p> BUCK 2 1/2 stars. A documentary that focuses on legendary Western horse trainer Buck Brannaman and his indisputably effective zen technique. The film is sweet feed for horse lovers. 1 hr. 28 PG (animal violence) - David Hiltbrand</p><p> CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER 2 1/2 stars. Earnest, square-jawed and unapologetically square, Chris Evans is appealing as the patriotic title character in Joe Johnston's effort, easily the best 1941 movie made in 2011. With Tommy Lee Jones, Hayley Atwell and Derek Luke. 2 hrs. 02 PG-13 (war violence, medical experiments) - Carrie Rickey</p><p> CARS 2 2 1/2 stars. Mater, the little tow truck who could, is the hero of of this sequel to the movie widely considered the lemon in the Pixar cornucopia. Despite Mater's bucktoothed charm, John Lasseter fails to turn this globe-trotting sequel into lemonade. 1 hr. 52 G - Carrie Rickey</p><p> THE CHANGE-UP 2 stars. Inventive comic performances from Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds as a straight-laced family man and his best pal, a slacker man whore, get flushed away in toilet humor. With Leslie Mann as the underappreciated wife and Olivia Wilde as the smoking-hot legal assistant. 1 hr. 52 R (potty-humor, extreme profanity, drugs, nudity, sexual candor) - Carrie Rickey </p><p> COWBOYS &#38; ALIENS 2 1/2 stars. Daniel Craig stars as an Eastwoodian stranger in the title-says-it-all mash-up of two rich and venerable movie genres - westerns and sci-fi. Directed by the "Iron Mans'" Jon Favreau, this widescreen hybrid has trouble finding the right tone - sagebrush sobriety or high plains camp? A bit of both, alas, with Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde along for the ride. 1 hr. 58 PG-13 (violence, intense action, alien ooze, adult themes) - Steven Rea </p><p> CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE. 3 stars. Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are perfection as Hot Guy and Indifferent Girl in this family-friendly romantic farce that co-stars Steve Carell and Julianne Moore as Undemonstrative Husband and Disappointed Wife. 1 hr. 57 PG-13 (sexual candor, discreet profanity) - Carrie Rickey </p><p> FINAL DESTINATION 5 2 stars. The most gory entry in the film cycle about household items decapitating and pulverizing hot boys and girls has nary a plot or decorum. But it's in 3-D. Fans will dig it. The rest should steer clear. 1 hr. 32 R (extreme gore, violence, profanity, flying limbs) - Tirdad Derakhshani</p><p> FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS 2 1/2 stars. Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis are a hot and happening dude and dudette who've maxed out on bad relationships and messy breakups. They like each other, a lot. And they're attracted to each other, a lot. So, they make a pact: sex, yes. Commitment, never. Se how long that lasts. 1 hr. 44 R (sex, nudity, profanity, adult themes) - Steven Rea</p><p> THE FUTURE 3 1/2 stars. Miranda July stars in, and wrote, and directs, this shuffling and strange portrait of a man and a woman who upend their lives to make room for an adopted cat. Along the way, she has an affair - hiding out in this other man's world - and tries to make a YouTube dance video. A meditation on mortality, on loneliness, on the way technology and narcissism have intersected to create a fascinating monster, July's film is all this and more. 1 hr. 31 R (sex, profanity, adult themes) - Steven Rea </p><p> GLEE THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE 3 stars. It's pure vocal adrenaline as our favorite show chorus belts out its catchy songbook on stage. Maybe not live but a sonic treat nonetheless. With Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and the rest of the TV cast. 1 hr. 30 PG (mild sexual references) - David Hiltbrand </p><p> THE GREEN LANTERN 1 1/2 stars. Almost as enjoyable as an explosion in a mold lab. This intermittently-amusing, interminable affair stars a tongue-in-cheek Ryan Reynolds, an earnest Blake Lively and a scenery-chewing Peter Sarsgaard who never quite emerge from the green gunk encrusting the sets like so much Silly String. 1 hr. 54 PG-13 (sci-fi violence, action) - Carrie Rickey</p><p> THE GUARD 3 1/2 stars. The great, girthful Brendan Gleeson takes the title role - and saunters off into the sunset with it, in this smart, funny portrait of a maverick Irish country constable, begrudgingly partnered with an FBI agent (Don Cheadle) on the hunt for a murderous band of drug smugglers. From John Michael McDonagh, older brother to "In Bruges'" Martin McDonagh. The siblings share a similarly twisted sensibility. 1 hr. 36 R (violence, profanity, sex, adult themes) - Steven Rea </p><p> HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 3 1/2 stars. The smashingly good final installment in the long-running series based on J.K. Rowling's books has Harry reaching his climactic showdown with the Dark Lord. 2 hrs. 10 PG-13 (intense action sequences and frightening imagery) - Carrie Rickey </p><p> THE HELP 3 stars. Viola Davis gives a soul-stirring, hope-raising performance in Tate Taylor's adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's best-seller about black domestics in 1962 Mississippi who share their stories for an oral history taken by a white woman (Emma Stone). 2 hrs. 26 PG-13 (racism, sexual candor, violence) - Carrie Rickey </p><p> HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 stars. As a disgruntled employee who is slow on the uptake, Jason Bateman stands out in this frenetic and raunchy comedy about abused workers who plot to kill their employers. With Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis and a surprisingly funny cameo by Colin Farrell and a less funny one by Jamie Foxx. 1 hr. 38 R (extreme raunch, drugs, sexual candor, profanity) - Carrie Rickey</p><p> LARRY CROWNE 2 1/2 stars. Tom Hanks stars in (and directs) this recession-era rom-com about a guy who loses his job and enrolls in community college, where he gets befriended by an impossibly sunny scooter girl and then falls for his Speech 217 teacher, Julia Roberts. Too cute for its own good, this upbeat take on downbeat times is nonetheless hard to dislike. 1 hr. 39 PG-13 (adult themes, language) - Steven Rea</p><p> A LITTLE HELP 3 stars. As a Long Island dental hygienist beset with marital, familial and existential woes, "The Office's" Jenna Fischer is smart, forceful, funny and sad - it's a truly terrific performance. A first feature from TV veteran Michael J. Weithorn ("The King of Queens"), this is a small but satisfying slice of real-life drama, spiked with humor and insight. 1 hr. 48 R (sex, profanity, adult themes) - Steven Rea </p><p> MIDNIGHT IN PARIS 3 1/2 stars. A lark, a souffle, a delightful shaggy-dog story with Owen Wilson as its shaggy hero. What's he doing in a Woody Allen movie about a B-list screenwriter who time-travels from the present to the Jazz Age? Disarming the audience with his wistful joie de vivre, that's what. With Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard and Michael Sheen. 1 hr. 34 PG-13 (sexual references) - Carrie Rickey</p><p> MONTE CARLO 2 1/2 stars. Cheery teen comedy with Selena Gomez, Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy as three American girls vacationing in Paris who are whisked away to Monte Carlo for the time of their lives following a case of mistaken identity. 1 hr. 49 PG (brief mild profanity) - Carrie Rickey</p><p> MR. POPPER'S PENGUINS 2 stars. Jim Carrey stars as a hard-driving New York real estate guy whose icy heart gets thawed when a six-pack of penguins show up at his Park Avenue door. Putative comic mayhem, potty-training jokes and profound life-lessons ensue. 1 hr. 35 PG (cartoon mayhem, potty jokes, adult themes) - Steven Rea</p><p> PASSIONE: A MUSICAL ADVENTURE 3 1/2 stars. John Turturro is the puckish tour guide and ardent fan responsible for this buoyant and beautiful musical documentary, a celebration of the multicultural song traditions of Naples. How do you say irresistable in Italian? 1 hr. 32 No MPAA rating (adult themes) - Steven Rea </p><p> POINT BLANK 3 1/2 stars. In the tradition of "Tell No One" (and starring Gilles Lellouche, who played one of its most colorful characters), this French thriller about a hardworking hospital nurse forced into action hero mode is jolting, ricocheting stuff from the first scene to the last. 1 hr. 24 No MPAA rating (violence, intense action, profanity, adult themes) - Steven Rea </p><p> PROJECT NIM 3 1/2 stars. The King Kong of ape documentaries, James Marsh's film chronicles the animal wrongs perpetrated on the spirited chimpanzee named Nim Chimpsky who was variously loved, used and cast off by the humans who taught him sign language and exploited him for medical testing. PG-13 (profanity, drug use, animal cruelty) - Carrie Rickey</p><p> RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES 3 stars. James Franco and a performance-captured Andy Serkis are the leads in this touching man-and-his-monkey melodrama... oops, make that this shamelessly fun sci-fi B-movie with A-movie effects. A prequel to the original '68 classic, with a barrel of chimps and orangutans running amok in modern-day San Francisco. 1 hr. 45 PG-13 (violence, intense action, experimental drugs, aduklt themes) - Steven Rea </p><p> SARAH'S KEY 3 stars. Gilles Paquet-Brenner's gripping, if uneven, thriller starring Kristin Scott Thomas as a contemporary journalist researching France's collaboration with the Nazis in the roundup and deportation of Jews to the death camps. 1 hr. 51 PG-13 (suspenseful and disturbing scenes involving children) - Carrie Rickey </p><p> SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN 2 1/2 stars. Wayne Wang takes Lisa See's novel of female friendship set in 19th-century Imperial China and intercuts it with a twinned tale of girlfriends in contemporary Shanghai. Though the modern seqyences seem shoehorned in, at moments the film has a visual wloquence and resonance that transcends its clutzy dialogue and forced parallelism. With Li Bingbing and Gianna Jun. 1 hr. 40 PG-13 (sexuality, foot-binding, brief opium use) - Carrie Rickey</p><p> SUPER 8 3 stars. A model of recycling, this adolescent romantic thriller from JJ Abrams salvages the best parts from Steven Spielberg blockbusters. Because Abrams likes his melancholy characters and lets them be awestruck and aw-shucks, it works. With newcomer Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning. 1 hr. 52 PG-13 (intense action sequences, drug refereces) - Carrie Rickey</p><p> TABLOID 3 1/2 stars. Errol Morris uncovers the stranger-than-fiction tale of an ex-beauty queen accused of kidnapping the man she loves, holding him prisoner in a "love cottage" and forcing him to have sex. That's not the half of it, in this great and giddy documentary. 1 hr. 28 R (nudity, profanity, adult themes) - Steven Rea</p><p> TERRI 3 stars. A likeable movie about a 15-year-old misfit who doesn't like himself so much. Jacob Wysocki stars as the title character in Azazel Jacobs' edgy tale of high-school insiders and outsiders. 1 hr. 45 R (drugs, sex, profanity, humiliation) - Carrie Rickey </p><p> 30 MINUTES OR LESS 2 stars. A hazy action comedy about a pizza delivery guy (Jesse Eisenberg) forced to rob a bank, or else the bomb he's got strapped to his chest will detonate. With crash-and-burn car chases and some unexpectedly dark turns, the film is undermined by a surfeit of sloppy R-rated jokes and stupid-with-a-capital-S comedy. Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride co-star. 1 hr. 23 R (profanity, violence, sex, adult themes) - Steven Rea </p><p> TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON1 1/2 stars. The war between the Decepticons and Autobots comes to a head in the disastrous third entry in brainless-blockbuster auteur Michael Bay's toy-inspired franchise. A bloated, morally bankrupt 154-minute spectacle of meaningless violence, it'll leave you with post-traumatic stress disorder. Shia LaBeouf, Tyrese Gibson, Frances McDormand and John Malkovich star. 2 hrs. 34 PG-13 (violence, some profanity, sexuality, evil robots) - Tirdad Derakhshani</p><p> THE TREE OF LIFE 4 stars. Terrence Malick contemplates the universe and nature, grace and grief and love - and the lives of a family in 1950s Texas - in his beautiful, elipitical, kind of nutty masterpiece. With Brad Pitt, Jessica Chastain, and Sean Penn, and yes, CG dinosaurs, too. PG-13 (violence, adult themes) - Steven Rea</p><p> THE TRIP 4 stars. Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, two friends (and friendly rivals) who happen to be famous British funnymen, and who happen to be traveling together for a week through the hills and dales - and posh restaurants - of the Lake District. Ridiculously riotous comedy - and crazy impressions - ensue. 1 hr. 47 No MPAA rating (profanity, drugs, sex, adult themes) - Steven Rea</p><p> WINNIE THE POOH It's been 35 years since Pooh Bear's been the lead on the big screen, but the series still carries a sweetness that avoids sap. The whole Hundred Acre Wood gang searches for Eeyore's tail and Christopher Robin in a tight, fun film. It may not carry the flair that Pixar films manages, but it highlights the values of friendship compellingly. 1 hr.

NY Post Chimp Cartoon

“The cartoon in today’s New York Post is troubling at best given the historic racist attacks of African-Americans as being synonymous with monkeys. One has to question whether the cartoonist is making a less than casual reference to this when in the cartoon they have police saying after shooting a chimpanzee that “Now they will have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill.”

“Being that the stimulus bill has been the first legislative victory of President Barack Obama (the first African American president) and has become synonymous with him it is not a reach to wonder are they inferring that a monkey wrote the last bill?”

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