Review: Shark Tale

How does a studio afford to make a computer- animated flick with six A-list celebrities? Easy. Hire cheap writers to concoct a weak, unfunny script and then saturate the film with product placements. I haven't seen a more pathetic movie about sharks since 1999's "Deep Blue Sea." As a bonus, this underwater fiasco also features the worst example of Robert De Niro playing a caricature of himself since "Analyze That." I'm waiting for "The Incredibles," then I'm giving up on this genre. Grade: F

Mookie Of The Month - October

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Review: 'Joey'

NBC is hoping for spin-off magic, a la "Frasier," but my guess is "Joey" will be forgotten quicker than "The Tortellis". The sad truth is that even though he was the best character on "Friends," without the eye candy of Jennifer Aniston and the dry wit of Matthew Perry, "Joey" is just plain dumb. Grade: C+

Mookie Of The Month - September

Meet Mookie!

Review: Garden State

You expect a dark comedy to be funny. You never expect it to be inspirational. Although I was disappointed by the ending, as a whole I recommend this film for the laughs and for the message. Natalie Portman gets the regional accent down pat, and Zach Braff effectively tells this you-can't-go-home-again story. Rarely is a reflection on the pushing-30 folks of the world done so well, and so honestly. Grade: B+