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PAUL BLART: MALL COP (PG for profanity, suggestive & crude humor, some violence)
No doubt about it, this is Kevin James' film; as a present day James Gleason (with all the familiar traits from the "poor soul" to "honeymooner,") he rubber-faces his way in a show of extreme naivety through his self-important duty as an ineffectual mall cop who butts heads with a group of criminals that plan to rob the mall, and comes up smelling like a rose.
Interviews remind us that James' sweetness flows beyond his screen image, that he's a prince to work with, that he's capable of plenty of improvisational humor and of bearing the brunt of the slapstick pratfalls without complaint, on and on - and while it's true that his character reeks of sympathetic stupidity, it hardly makes up for the fact that this is entirely his flick - as co-writer (with Nick Bakay), and with heavy leaning on director Steve Carr. He's developed a likable dunce of a character; all he needs is a good plot in which to use it. Indiscriminate audiences will flock to it and love all 91-minutes of it.
C-
Archived Movie Reviews
August 2009
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- G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA (B-)
- INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (B)
- SHORTS (B)
- POST GRAD (F)
July 2009
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- LAND OF THE LOST (D+)
- THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 (B)
- IMAGINE THAT (D+)
- The Proposal (B-)
- Year One (D)
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- ANGELS & DEMONS (B-)
- Earth (B+)
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- TERMINATOR 4 (D+)
- DANCE FLICK (D-)
April 2009
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- HANNAH MONTANA THE MOVIE (B-)
- OBSERVE & REPORT (D+)
- DRAGONBALL: EVOLUTION (Grade: F)
- STATE OF PLAY (B+)
- 17 AGAIN (C-)
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- THE UNINVITED (B-)
- NEW IN TOWN (F)
- REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (A)
- WATCHMEN (B-)
- DEFIANCE (C+)
- DUPLICITY (B-)
- I LOVE YOU, MAN (C-)
- KNOWING (C-)
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- MONSTERS VS. ALIENS (B-)
- THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT (C+)
- 12 ROUNDS (C-)
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February 2009
- TAKEN (C+)
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- PUSH (B)
- HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU (C-)
- THE PINK PANTHER 2 (D)
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- SLUMDOG MILLILONAIRE (A-)
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January 2009
- BRIDE WARS (C-)
- MY BLOODY VALENTINE (C+)
- HOTEL FOR DOGS (C+)
- PAUL BLART: MALL COP (C-)
- INKHEART (C)
- UNDERWORLD: RISE OF THE LYCANS (C-)
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- FOUR CHRISTMASES (F)
- PUNISHER: WAR ZONE (D-)
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- W (A-)
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- QUARANTINE (D+)
- MAX PAYNE (C-)
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- HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR (C+)
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September 2008
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- DEATH RACE (D+)
- VICKI CRISTINA BARCELONA (B)
- TRAITOR (B-)
- MY BEST FRIEND'S GIRL (F)
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August 2008
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- SWING VOTE (C)
- THE SISTEROOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2 (C+)
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- TROPIC THUNDER (B+)
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- THE ROCKER (C)
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July 2008
- WALL-E (A)
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- HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (B+)
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- THE STRANGERS (D+)
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May 2008
March 2008
- DR. SEUSS' HORTON HEARS A WHO (B)
- PENELOPE (B)
- NEVER BACK DOWN (C-)
February 2008
- The Eye (C)
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- Fool's Gold (D)
- Sweeney Todd (A)
- The Spiderwick Chronicles (B)
- Jumper (C)
- Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins (C)
- Untraceable (D+)
- Joe's Long List of Long Movies (A)
January 2008
- JUNO (B+)
- ONE MISSED CALL (D-)
- THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP (B+)
- ALIENS VS. PREDATOR: REQUIEM (none)
- BUCKET LIST (B+)
- FIRST SUNDAY (C+)
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- 27 DRESSES (C+)
- CLOVERFIELD (C+)
- MAD MONEY (D)
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December 2007
- AWAKE (none)
- THE GOLDEN COMPASS (C)
- I AM LEGEND (B-)
- ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS (D)
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- NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS (C+)
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- GONE BABY GONE (A-)
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October 2007
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- The Nightmare Before Christmas (3D Version) (B+)
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- Superbad (B-)
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- Transformers (B-)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (B+)
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February 2007
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